Awake: Create
by 7th Creature
Summary: Before the sealing process, The Yondaime Hokage encounters a problem. There's only one solution to putting an end to the fox demon's rampage. What damage could one more Jinchuuriki possibly do? Oh, boy.
1. Chapter 1

"If I had any regrets, it would be that I won't be able to see Naruto grow up." Uzumaki Kushina smiled at the crying, blonde-haired baby at her side. She coughed, blood dripping from her mouth down her chin. The chakra chains in her back were starting to burn. It was everything she could do to hold the Kyuubi still long enough for Gamabunta to deal some damage.

Namikaze Minato bowed his head, tears running down his cheeks to his chin and onto the head of the pink-haired baby girl he had in his arms. He had found her alone in the cabin when he had dropped off Naruto after he had gotten his son away from Uchiha Madara's clutches. He had had no choice but to bring her with them. He wasn't going to leave a defenceless baby girl alone in a cabin in the woods, where he was sure no one would find her. The reason as to why or how she got there still bothered him but he couldn't do much at the moment.

"Kushina….You don't need to take the fox down with you. We can use our last bit of chakra to see Naruto one more time." Minato stated, wiping his tears away. Kushina sent him a confused glance. "I'll seal the last of your chakra in Naruto with an Eight Trigrams Seal. Then, I'll seal the Kyuubi away with the Dead Demon Seal." Minato explained, glancing from his son to the fox, who seemed to be struggling with the chakra chains around him.

"But that-! The user will…!" Kushina tried to warn but Minato cut her off.

"But I'll only be able to seal half of the fox's power. It's just too great. It's physically and conceptually impossible to seal it all away-" A new baby's cry interrupted him. Minato's attention went to the girl in his arms, a narrowed look forming in his eyes. "I can't let the Kyuubi be revived without a Jinchuuriki; the balance of all Bijuu will be destroyed. With the Dead Demon Seal, I could-….Damn it!" Minato cursed, shutting his eyes tightly.

Kushina snapped to attention at his outburst. "What..?"

Minato looked up, his glassy blue eyes meeting her hazy turquoise ones. "If I use the Dead Demon Seal, I'll be able to seal the Kyuubi's soul within me and half of its power into Naruto. But what about the other half of its power?" Minato questioned, shaking his head slightly. He began trembling, shattering under the pressure.

As if sensing his discomfort, Naruto began to cry harder. This began a chain reaction, as the baby girl started crying equally as loud. Minato stared at his son then looked down at the baby in his arms. _'They must be hungry.'_ He stared blankly at the girl, his eyes unfocused. Unconsciously, he began to rock her in his arms, pretty much the same thing he had done to Naruto when the boy had been born. On her side, Kushina tried to calm down their son by stroking his soft hair and cheek.

Minato's eyes began widening in realization. Why hadn't he thought of it before? He stared at the baby girl as if she had been an angel sent down from Heaven. She could be the solution to their problems. She could house the other half of the Kyuubi's chakra. The power wouldn't be left around. And there was also less of a chance of that masked man gaining full control over the Kyuubi to crush the village. Now, it was just the problem of how long Kushina would be able to hold the Kyuubi. Would there be enough time to do two sealing procedures? The doubt left him as soon as it came. He could just perform the Kage Bunshin.

Then, as soon as the idea was complete, regret and remorse filled him. It wasn't fair. The girl probably had parents. They were probably searching frantically for her. To bring this burden upon her and her family would be like a mortal sin. Past experiences with Kushina guaranteed that her life (along with his son's) will be extremely unpleasant. How could he have thought about bringing this upon her shoulders? A healthy baby girl who had absolutely no say or matter in this?

However, a glance towards his suffering village spoke volumes of what he had to do.

_'I'm so sorry.'_

Minato focused some of his chakra to the palm of his hand and held it above the girl's chest for a moment. Relief and remorse coursed through his body at once. _'Her chakra coils aren't developed, yet. She's barely a few months old.' _Holding the little girl firmly to his chest, Minato spoke again. "I'm going to seal the Kyuubi's soul inside my body with the Dead Demon Seal. Then, I'm going to seal half of the Kyuubi's chakra into Naruto and half into this little girl with the Eight Trigrams Seal. I'm going to seal some of your chakra into both of them so you'll have a few moments with them when they're older-"

"Minato…!"

The blonde Hokage shook his head, interrupting her. "I know what you're going to say but Jiraiya-sensei told me there was a destined child. He spoke of the world breaking into an evolution. So far, I've come to know two things. That masked man that attacked you earlier is the antagonist." Minato then looked at his son. "And Naruto here will be the Jinchuuriki to stop him….I can just feel it." He stood up, rapidly making handseals.

Ram, Boar, Snake, Rat, Dog Bird, Snake Ox, Rooster

_'I'm sorry, both of you.'_

"But Minato-"

"Have a little faith," The blonde smiled at her, the spirit of the Shinigami appearing behind him. "He's our son, after all." Kushina panted, her eyelids dropping some. "After I'm done with the Dead Demon Seal, I'll place some of your chakra inside them. You'll meet the older them sooner than you think…The time will come when they'll want to take control over the fox's power….I want you to be there to guide them through it."

"Our _son_, this _girl_…." Kushina panted, coughing up blood. She glared up at him. "I don't want them to carry this burden alone!" Minato stayed silent, knowing she had to vent somehow. It wasn't every day your son and an unknown baby girl were chosen to be the next Jinchuuriki. "But why the Dead Demon Seal! There's no reason for you to die, just so I can meet him later on!" She gritted her teeth. "I wanted you to be there for him…To raise him to be like his father! Why are you sacrificing Naruto to preserve the balance of the Bijuu! To save the village and country! Why are you sacrificing yourself for me!"

Minato looked at the ground. "Turning you back on your home and village is just as bad as abandoning your child. You should understand, Kushina. You know the pain of not growing up in your own home. You should also know that we're a family of Shinobi. It's our duty." He flashed her a smile. "Besides, even if I lived, I could never be your substitute." Upon seeing her slightly confused gazed, he explained. "There are things Naruto needs to be told, things I could never imagine how to explain. That's your job as a mother and I need you to carry it out, even if for the briefest of moments. This isn't just for you," His face turned grim. "This is for Naruto, as well!"

Minato shifted the girl onto his left arm then leaned down to pick his son up with his right. He held them both close to him. "Dying to make a better life for his son and home….You should let the father handle that." He handed them both to Kushina and stood up, facing the Kyuubi.

The Shinigami's hand went through Minato's soul then through Minato's real body as it shot towards the Kyuubi at an amazing speed. The hand grabbed one of the Kyuubi's paws. Minato grunted, "Seal!" The Kyuubi howled as its soul was ripped away from his body and sealed into Minato's own. Minato slumped over, panting. _'Its chakra is so heavy….My body's gone numb….'_ Minato got on one knee, summoning a ceremonial throne. _'Now, for the Eight Trigrams Seal….I'm going to seal the Kyuubi's power inside them.'_

Minato took both babies from Kushina and placed them carefully on the throne. Kushina felt some of her strength wavering as she slumped forward a bit and started coughing out blood.

The Kyuubi seemed to notice and took advantage of this. He launched forward, posing one paw to strike down on them.

The next few seconds happened too fast for anyone who had the unfortunate pleasure of watching to understand. Minato coughed blood, his stomach burning as one of the Kyuubi's claws pierced through him and then through Kushina. The end of the claw had been only inches away from touching the infants. Kushina opened her eyes, turning her head to glance at Minato from the corner of her eyes. She grinned, blood spilling over her lips and down her chin. "If the father can do this….then the mother should be able to do it even better…" Minato looked at her strongly, emitting a chuckle from her. "There's a first time for everything, Minato…..You won this time…."

Minato's gaze softened and a small smile played at his lips. "Thank you, Kushina."

He spread some of his blood on his palm and summoned Gamatora. Before the toad could even react to the situation, Minato shifted into Hokage-mode. "Gamatora. I'm entrusting you with the key to the seal. Hurry and go find Jiraiya-sensei…..Store it with him." The toad nodded his head grimly before letting a sad smile cross his lips.

"Goodbye….Hokage-sama."

As Gamatora poofed away, Minato turned to his wife. "That's it. I'm going to perform the Eight Trigrams Seal. I'll store some of your chakra into both and try to pour some of mine into them, as well. We don't have much time. If you have anything to tell them both, please do so quickly."

Kushina smiled as she stared down at her son. "Naruto….Sweetie, don't be a fussy eater. Eat up and grow up to be a big boy! Take a bath every day, and got to sleep early." Minato smiled at her words, his eyes half-lidded in exhaustion. "Make friends. It doesn't matter how many. Just make sure they're real and trustful…Even a few is enough! Study your Ninjutsu….I was never good at it but maybe you will be, just like your father! Remember, no one is good at everything, so don't be bummed if something doesn't work-out for you. Make sure you listen to your teachers at the Academy….Don't make too much trouble now, alright?"

Kushina chuckled at the next part. "Try to avoid the three vices of Shinobi…Don't borrow money if you can help it. Save what you earn from missions…Don't drink alcohol until you're twenty-one, and don't overdo it or you'll harm your body. And as for women…Well, I'm a woman, so I don't know what to say, but I know you'll want a girlfriend someday, so…..Try to get a weird one, someone just like your mother." Kushina closed her eyes before they snapped back open, a grin gracing her blood-covered lips. "And watch out for Jiraiya-sensei!" The blonde Hokage chuckled at this.

Kushina's eyes wandered over to the baby girl. She gulped. "What's her name, Minato?"

"I'm not sure. I found her in the cabin alone when I took Naruto there."

Kushina closed her eyes, giving a small nod. She opened them again, taking in every detail of her. From her pale skin to her pink hair... "How about Sakura?" She offered silently. Minato hummed before nodding.

"It suits her."

Kushina smiled again. "Uzumaki Sakura it is, then." She looked back at the baby girl. "Sakura, look after Naruto, alright? I know you'll go through a lot of stages. Trust me; I've gone through them, too. Just hang in there, Okay? Hopefully, someone will help you go through them." She looked at both of them. Tears started to fall down her cheeks and her voice broke. "You're both going to experience a lot of pain and suffering….Just remember who you are! Find a goal, a dream and don't you stop until it comes true!...There's so much more I want to say…To both of you….I want to stay but I know I can't, so…I love you!..."

Kushina sniffed and sent the blonde behind her an apologetic grin. "Sorry, Minato…I took all of our time."

Minato smiled at her. "It's Okay." He looked at both of them, tears running down his cheeks. "Naruto, this is your father. Listen to your motor-mouth mother….Both of you." Minato made a Kage Bunshin, who looked just as bad as he did and nodded to it. Everything became blurry for both as Minato cried out three last words.

"Eight Trigrams Seal!"

After performing the sealing on Sakura, the clone poofed to nonexistence and the last thing they saw were the smiles on both children's faces.

_(A/N: I'm alive! Holy crap! *Notices the several glares and gulps* What?...Oh, right, my other stories. Well, you see…..They're DONE! Yes, I just need to proof-read and I'm posting them up! Well, at least, Akuma no Buntai is done, as in the story OVERALL is done. The Sequel is, as of now, being constructed into a rough draft. I left a lot of spaces open, spaces I want YOU guys to fill in when the chapter is up. But, let's not talk about it right now._

_**VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: **__Yes, another story but this one has been sitting in my computer for a while (ever since I found out the truth of Naruto's birth) and I just got down to re-reading it. A sudden inspiration hit me and I had to finish this. It might not be long and it's really dialogue-heavy but it won't stay like that for long. So, anyway, I re-read chapters 497 through 505, and I was bawling like a baby. I forgot how emotional those chapters were!_

Okay, enough rambling. THIS is the important note. While I was re-reading the chapters, a few things struck me. For example, if Kushina had sealed the Kyuubi back into her and died with it inside of her, it would still come back because it's a form made out of pure chakra, right? Then, if it had been sealed inside Minato, even if it was only half of the Kyuubi, then why didn't it come back as it was stated it would if it had been sealed? Another thing that struck me made no sense, either. I'll take Orochimaru and Sandaime's battle for example. The Sandaime did the Dead Demon Technique on Orochimaru. Obviously, he was too injured and exhausted to do the complete thing. So, instead of taking his whole soul, he took Orochimaru's ability to perform jutsu away by taking his arms. Obviously he can't use them, but then why does he still have chakra? I mean, he needed it to get into his new 'skin' somehow, right? Also, the Kyuubi BREATHES. Something made purely out of chakra simply cannot breathe because it doesn't have life. If something has life, it must have a soul. And the Dead Demon Seal is used to take a victim's soul, not chakra. I found it kind of strange.

Feel free to correct me if you wish. I'm only here to learn. Just, please, don't bash or insult. That just shows how immature some people are.

Also, I had a little incident and I sprained my ankle. I'm on pain-killers because it just HURTS so fucking MUCH. So, if you find any errors in a grammatical sense, please tell me.

One more thing: I clearly don't own Naruto. Sasuke would've been dead by now. I hate that guy. *growls*

Anyway, R&R!)

7th Creature


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey, guys! I'd like to thank you all for the reviews. I really appreciate them. I'm gonna' try to answer them as best to my ability as possible at the start of the chapters._

_**LSM: **__First of all, thanks for giving it a read. Second, I know Naruto is able to handle the Kyuubi because of his Uzumaki blood. I never said he couldn't. It's just physically and conceptually impossible to seal the Kyuubi ENTIRELY inside him. Minato himself said it (in both the Manga and my story) because its chakra is too big. So, the Kyuubi's chakra was divided._

Thirdly, Minato and Kushina both dying wasn't an excuse. I'll admit it from now that the first chapter was the exact same thing that happened during Naruto's birth (Besides the obvious half of Kyuubi's chakra being sealed into Sakura) and the Kyuubi's sealing. Fourth, it's possible for its CHAKRA and WILL to be sealed inside two people. Take Sora (From the Anime), for example. The Kyuubi's remaining chakra was floating around the air after it was sealed and Sora was chosen to become a half-Jinchuuriki, and they sealed the remaining chakra into him. It's possible.

Fifth, I didn't do this so Naruto and Sakura could be together. I obviously have a plot. I hate those stories where they have the makings of amazing plots but the two just get together and BOOM! It's done. I'm not doing that. They'll go through stages before they even get close to each other. Sixth, because Sakura obviously isn't of Uzumaki blood, she won't handle the Kyuubi's chakra inside of her. There will be consequences because everything can't be, "Hey, I'm a Jinchuuriki! Oh, my God! You, too? Great! Let's make-out!" There will be complications in the seals and power. Hmm, think of when Orochimaru placed the Five Pronged Seal on Naruto during the Second part of the Chunin Exams. Naruto's chakra control went haywire and he couldn't tap into the fox's chakra. He kept failing at the Walk-On-Water Jutsu until Jiraiya got rid of the Five-Pronged Seal. Sakura will have those same complications because, like both of us stated, she's not of Uzumaki blood. The complications won't be the same but they won't be different, either.

And Seventh (and most importantly), this is Fanfiction. We could do whatever the hell we want because it's in our imagination. I must thank you for bringing those topics up so I could explain them more clearly. Hopefully, you'll understand now.

_**Darkredblossomgodess:**__Not so much bashing as in, "Ah, you're an asshole, you brother of a murder! You should die! Bwahahaha! You duck-ass!" But, yes, Sasuke will be a major antagonist in this story. As to Sasuke bashing THEM, yes, he'll hate them with all his guts._

_**Xsd:**__ They won't hate the village this time. Don't worry._

_**.You:**__ Thanks for the compliment! I know it could've been better but I left a lot of openings for an even deeper plot. Yes, I'm evil like that._

_**Masen Lakain: **__Thanks for the review! Yes! This will be NaruSaku. Now, I never said they were going to be raised together. It seems like the most obvious of things to do. They do share the same last name; however, they will be brought up by different people. So, no, they won't be having any sibling-related relations._

To everyone else who reviewed, thank you so much! I've been feeling kind of bummed lately so hearing how you like my stories cheer me up greatly.

Anyway, rant's over so go ahead and read!

_**Hokage Tower- October 11th**_

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed as he rubbed his temples. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk to cover his face.

The Yondaime Hokage and his partner gave their lives to protect their village from the Kyuubi no Yokô. They had dealt with it at the moment of the attack, and now Hiruzen was left dealing with the leftover pieces. The Hokage sighed again as he ran his hands down his face and blinked at the numerous of files and papers on top of his old desk. Just one glance at the headings of the papers gave him a migraine. He's getting too old for this.

An Anbu materialized in front of him, bowing down before him. "Hokage-sama, all villagers have been returned to their homes safely."

The Sandaime Hokage nodded, "Very well. You're dismissed." The Anbu bowed and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hiruzen sighed again as he leaned forward, pushing the papers that littered across his desk aside. He placed his face in his hands, a troubled groan making its way past his lips. A knock on the door made him sigh again. "Enter," He ordered, pulling away from his hands. He nodded a greeting at two of his most loyal Shinobi. "Kakashi, Yugao, I'm glad you made it."

"You requested our presence, Hokage-sama?" Yugao asked, bowing down. Kakashi gave a nod, hands carelessly stuffed in his pockets. Despite their calm and collected attitudes, Sarutobi could see the exhaustion in them. There were visible bags under their eyes and their eyes were duller than usual. Even Kakashi's lone visible eye seemed downcast. Sarutobi reasoned that the loss of the Yondaime Hokage had hit both of these kids hard.

"Yes. As you know, this village has suffered greatly these past few hours." The Hokage stood up and walked over to one of the windows, turning his back on them. He clasped his hands behind his back as he gazed out to his semi-peaceful village. "The loss of the Yondaime has affected the villagers - all of us - greatly. However, Minato wouldn't have wanted us to mourn over his and Kushina's deaths. This village is going to move on forward, just like it always has when disaster strikes."

Kakashi and Yugao nodded. "With all due respect, sir, why'd you call us here?" Yugao asked softly.

"I assume that you both knew of Uzumaki Kushina's status in the village…?"

Kakashi spoke this time. "She was the Kyuubi no Yokô's Jinchuuriki."

Hiruzen nodded and turned to them slowly, a sigh escaping his lips. "You're correct, Kakashi. Now, I'm assuming you're all wondering what happened to the Kyuubi, no?" At their nods, the Hokage smiled warily. "Konoha has a new Jinchuuriki." He jerked his head towards the crib that was positioned at the corner of the office. The two teens looked over. The crib itself was made out of wood and painted white. It was placed in the corner of the office, not quite obscuring any actions the Hokage may take part in but not quite completely out of his eyesight. "Go on," The Hokage encouraged them to look.

The teens shared a look before walking over to the crib silently. Looking inside, they found two babies. One was a boy. He had blonde, slightly ruffled and spiky hair. He had his eyes closed, so the colour was unable to be pointed out. His skin colour was slightly more tanned than normal. There were six lines running horizontally on his cheeks, three on each side. He was curled up with his tiny fists clenched. He seemed the smallest and youngest of the two, probably only a few days old. The other one was a girl. She had short, pink hair. Her skin was awfully pale. She was sucking on her thumb, her hair splayed all over her face. She was bigger than the boy with already a few months. They were both peacefully asleep.

Kakashi broke the silence in the room. "Which one, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi walked over to the crib, looking down at the sleeping babies. "Both of them," Yugao and Kakashi sent him incredulous looks, and he shook his head. "Yes. I'm not sure how Minato managed it but Konoha has two Jinchuuriki, both holding the Kyuubi no Yokô inside of them." He turned to his desk. "Now, I'm of need of your thoughts about these kids. Do you see them as simple, slumbering children or as the demon fox itself?"

Kakashi's gaze hardened and he looked away. "Minato-sensei had a reason to seal the demon inside of them. My thoughts are the same as they've always been. They're both just kids. I wouldn't see a reason to hold a grudge against him. If anything, they saved us all."

Satisfied at the young teen's answer, the Hokage turned to the other teen. Yugao gazed at the babies, her eyes clouding over in thought. "I just received the news of my parents being killed in the attack…." This information alarmed the Hokage; however, he released a sigh of relief at her next words. "However, there's no need to blame these kids for something they had so choice in. I'll forever hate the fox but these kids are our heroes."

Sarutobi let a smile grace his lips as he sat back down in his chair. He leaned forward on the desk as he watched the two teens gaze fondly at the babies. "I'm glad to hear this. Word of Konoha having a new Jinchuuriki – especially now two – will spread like wildfire around the village. I'm afraid Minato's wish of the kids being treated as heroes will be thoroughly ignored. For this, I am placing you both on watch. You will watch over them _every single moment_, twelve hours a day until they are old enough to defend themselves. I am classifying this mission as S-ranked and, because of this; you're both obligated to become Anbu."

Hiruzen paused, awaiting their reactions. When he only saw looks of understanding, he continued. "You will be working alone, and another of my most trusted Anbu will be switching places with you every twelve hours and vice versa. If you have any more questions, please ask them now."

Kakashi nodded. "Will they be placed together?"

Sarutobi shook his head. "No. I'm afraid this may cause a chain reaction within the demonic chakra inside of them. They will be as far away as possible for a while."

Yugao stepped forward. "What about their feelings? Kushina once told me how the village treated her when she was a Jinchuuriki. If they're together, maybe they'll be able to handle the pain that comes with being a Jinchuuriki." Kakashi nodded in agreement.

The Hokage sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Yes, I've thought of that. However, this possible chain reaction may be more dangerous, and so, they will be separated. Besides, they're both going to be attending the Academy when they become of age. They're gonna' meet sooner or later."

The teens nodded in understanding. They gazed back at the babies before Yugao looked up at the older man. "Who are they, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi stared at her before chuckling slightly. "Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Sakura."

Kakashi looked up at their surnames. "Hokage-sama, Kushina was the last Uzumaki in this village. Obviously, the boy is her and Minato-sensei's son, but what of the girl? I know Kushina was only pregnant with one baby - a boy - and she looks a bit older than Naruto. So, who is she?" Kakashi questioned his only visible eyes hardening as he gazed back at the Hokage.

Sarutobi nodded his understanding and indicated to Sakura. "You see, the truth is, that I don't know myself. When we found the Yondaime and Kushina's bodies, those kids were on a ceremonial throne with seals on their stomachs. On Sakura's blankets was her name written in blood. We reasoned Kushina and Minato named her in the sealing process. There's no explanation whatsoever as so how or why she was there. I've already checked hospital records and it was a complete failure. She was never a part of the village until now."

"What of her parents?"

The Hokage shook his head at Yugao's words. "Nothing. There was no one within a ten mile radius of the attack site." At this, the teens looked sadly towards the crib. Seeing as they made no motion to say anything else, the Sandaime continued. "Yugao, I will assign you to look after Sakura and Kakashi will look after Naruto. Your assignment will be explained more thoroughly tomorrow morning along with the other Anbu members. Please hold off any other questions you may have for then. Your introduction to Anbu will be held off for next week, as we are still trying to recover from the attack. Just rest for today. It's been a long twenty-four hours for everyone."

The two newly promoted Anbu bowed their understanding and left the office. It seemed as if the kids felt them leaving and one of them began to cry. Sarutobi risked a glance at the crib, frowning when he saw that it was the blonde who was wailing. This caused a chain reaction, and the girl woke up from her peaceful slumber to wail along with her fellow Jinchuuriki. That's when Sarutobi noticed one small detail about her. They were pretty faint but when she moved the muscles of her cheekbones to cry, the six lines – which seemed familiar to Naruto's own – were slightly visible.

Sighing, Sarutobi made a Kage Bunshin and they both reached for the warm bottles of milk by his desk. As he reached in to pick Naruto up, he let another sigh escape his lips. _'I'm getting too old for this….'_

_**Hyuga Clan Estate- December 26- Six Years Later**_

Soft giggling could be heard coming from a room in the Hyuga Clan Estate as it neared midnight. Inside the room were two little girls playing with stuffed animals. One of the little girls had short navy locks that barely reached her neck and two bangs framing her face. Her eyes were a light pearl colour, indicating that she had the Hyuga Kekkei Genkai. Her skin was pale but not by much. She was smiling shyly at the girl that sat across from her on the carpet, holding a panda bear in her tiny arms.

The other girl was giggling uncontrollably. She held a stuffed fox close to her chest while she grinned. Her short pink hair was displayed around her face, easily indicating that she was the troublemaker of the two. Her emerald green eyes shown in the little light the lamp by the table on a corner of the room provided. Her skin was fairly pale, something quite unusual for girls her age. When she grinned, six faint horizontal lines were visible on her cheeks, three on each side.

The pink-haired girl giggled as she bounced in her cross-legged position. Excitement seemed to roll off of her every pore as she grinned. "Hinata-chan! It's almost time for your birthday! Aren't you excited?" The girl tilted her head to the side, her grin lessening into a soft smile, the lines on her cheeks disappearing as she did.

Hyuga Hinata nodded softly, smiling up at the slightly older girl. "Yes, Sakura-san. But are you sure you could stay the night? Shouldn't you be going back to the orphanage?" The soon-to-be birthday girl asked tenderly.

Uzumaki Sakura tensed at the mention of the orphanage. She looked away briefly, memories of that dreaded place flickering behind her beautiful eyes. She wanted to avoid that place as much as possible. Everyone there hated her for some reason unknown to her. The glares and whispers scared her and she flinched every time someone who clearly hated her walked by her. She'd rather be ignored than have people glare at her for something she wasn't sure she did(1).

She disliked the way some of the parents who wanted to adopt would just brush her off or glare at her as the caretaker reviewed over their files. There was this one time she had almost been able to have a family but that caretaker prevented it. The parents had seen her reading, all by herself, and pitied her. They had asked who she was. The caretaker had sent her a disgusted glance before whispering something to the parents. This, in turn, made them glare at her with an intensity that still sent shivers up her spine.

Sakura quickly looked back at her first and only friend, and put on a weak smile. "No, it's fine. They won't mind." Once Hinata smiled back softly, Sakura looked down at the stuffed fox in her hands sadly. _'More like they won't care.' _She added bitterly. Hinata was about to say something but the clock struck midnight with a ding, interrupting her next few words. Sakura quickly used this chance to change the subject. "Hinata-chan, it's the 27th! Happy Birthday!" Sakura quickly embraced her friend before letting go and smiling at her.

"Thank you, Saku-"

A small but audible explosion rocked the small room. The two girls looked at the door, hearing a few footsteps passing by. _'What in the…?'_ Sakura shuffled to her feet, tucking the precious fox under her arms and running to the door. Before she could grasp the doorknob, the door swung open, throwing the girl back a few steps.

The first thing Sakura saw was the Kumogakure Hitaiate around the man's forehead.

_Hey, guys! Quick update. It's short but I figured that'd be a good place to stop at. Anyway, the plot is slowly unfolding. I'm sure a few of you (If not, all of you) know what's going on right now, neh? It's two years later than the canon but this event, though small, rocks the very foundation of the Hyuga clan. It will also damage Sakura to the core. That last line foreshadows something that's gonna' happen to Sakura._

One thing, if you didn't or haven't read the review response I wrote for _**LSM**__, then I suggest you do. It has my thoughts and some pointers on the story's plot and development. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. PM me or leave me a review._

If I made any mistakes, regarding grammar, spelling, etc. and you manage to spot it, tell me so I can fix it.

(1) In the canon, Naruto is a prankster because people start to ignore him after seemingly being tired of sending him glares. He's ignored and became a prankster to get attention. It was done in a slightly negative way but it had the result he was looking for. In this, Sakura is the complete opposite. She wants the glares and whispers to stop. She'd rather be ignored than be put on the spot by glares and whispers.

I'm sorry for the lack of Naruto in this chapter. I'll try to squeeze in some Naruto-ness in the next chapter. Be forewarned, the next chapter is pretty serious. A lot more serious than this one.

Anyway, thanks for reading and drop off a review, please!

7th Creature.


	3. Chapter 3

_Response to Reviews:_

_**Darkredblossomgodess: **__Nope. Sorry. The headband is from Kumogakure (Village Hidden in the Clouds) so, it can't be Kakashi._

_**Reviewer:**__ Why would you think Sakura will be raped in this chapter or in any chapter at all? Just because I said that this encounter will rock Sakura to her core, doesn't mean she's gonna' be raped. There are other ways to harm a child besides physical and emotional abuse. The harm will only be temporary and won't be a big deal unless something triggers it and she goes down memory lane. I really don't see the point in Sakura being raped just to deepen a plot unless the plot revolves around that. This doesn't. Besides, I despise child and sexual abuse. Why would I write about it?_

To the other reviewers, thanks for the support! Onward with the chapter!

_**Hyuga Clan Estate- December 27**_

Sakura took a step back, taking in the appearance of the man in front of her. It was clear as day that he was a Shinobi. The headband around his forehead had a design that neither of the girls had ever seen before. It was out of the question for him to be a Konoha Shinobi.

Sakura tightened her hold on the fox under her arms. The man in front of her noticed this movement but ignored her, settling for looking at Hinata. He grinned and stepped into the room. This made Sakura take a few steps back. She saw that the man's gaze was on the younger girl. The Jinchuuriki stood in front of Hinata, blocking the man's view of her. His eyes flickered over to her and he glared.

"Shiro! Did you find her, yet?" Another man walked into the room, stopping once he laid eyes on the two girls. Sakura steeped backwards, pushing Hinata into her shadow even more. The new man's breath caught in his throat when he saw the girl's features. "Shiro, you dog…."

Shiro turned to him, an eyebrow raised. "What's up, Aio?" He noticed the brunette's intense gaze was settled onto the children and he turned back to them. "Come on, let's take the Hyuga and get the hell outta' here. Anbu could get here any minute."

"No." Aio spoke, his gaze locked intensely with Sakura's. "We'll take both. The pink one is just as valuable – if not, even more than the Hyuga."

"What? How?"

Aio's gaze hardened, startling the pink-haired girl in front of him. "She's one of Konoha's Jinchuuriki."

Despite the situation, Sakura frowned at that unfamiliar statement. _'Jinchuuriki? What's that?'_ Her eyes widened when Shiro started to cackle.

"Seriously? Aw, man, we sure hit the jackpot tonight." Shiro turned to the girls, grinning.

Sakura heard Hinata whimper behind her and her muscles tensed. _'I don't know what they want but I can't let them hurt Hinata-chan. She's my only friend.'_ She pushed the girl further back, never looking away from the men in front of her. _'What are they gonna' do?'_

Her answer came quickly just as Shiro launched himself to grab them. Sakura reached up, shielding herself from him. She felt hands grabbing her by her waist, and she was suddenly off the floor and hanging on one of the man's shoulder. A scream pierced the air, making the young Jinchuuriki tense even more. _'Hinata-chan!'_ Sakura turned her head to the side, watching as Aio grabbed Hinata by her legs and slung her over his shoulder.

Rage suddenly filled inside of her at the thought of these men taking Hinata away from her and hurting her. No, Hinata was her only friend. She wasn't going to be taken away from her. Sakura worked hard enough to attain this one friend and she wasn't about to lose her. Not now, not ever. Not if she could help it. She won't let them take her away. She won't allow it. These men are going to pay for ever thinking about separating them.

Sakura reached forward then brought her elbow down on the back of Shiro's head. Shiro cried out, momentarily losing his grip on her. Sakura yelped as she fell backwards onto the floor. She landed with a grunt and closed her eyes as pain erupted up her spine. Opening her eyes half way, she was greeted with a fuming Shiro. Her eyes widening, she scrambled to get onto her feet but a foot planted itself on her back, making her lose her balance and fall face first on the floor, legs and arms sprawled to the sides.

Shiro chuckled, putting more pressure on her back. Sakura groaned in pain. She closed her eyes and whimpered slightly in defeat. This guy was at least three times bigger than her and a Shinobi. She'd never stand a chance against him.

Aio scoffed, watching the one-sided battle. "Don't hurt her, Shiro. She could be a valuable aspect for Kumogakure."

Sakura grunted at the mention of the village and turned her head to look at the brunette. _'Kumogakure? Isn't that another village?'_ She groaned when more pressure was applied to her back. She hated not knowing what was going on. It made her feel useless, weak and confused. She didn't like feeling like that. That's why she planned on joining the Academy next year. She hated being useless and weak. Ignorance was bliss but uselessness struck her to the core and she hated it. She especially hated the position she was in right now.

Shiro chuckled, taking his foot off her. Sakura sighed in relief and made to get on her knees but the man's next words stunned her. "These fuckers never die. You can stab them to death and their damned Bijuu will heal them, no problem. You've seen Bee. The bastard won't stay still for a moment."

"Yes, but Bee is a teen and a Shinobi. She's just a little girl."

"No matter. They're all still the same; they're still demons." Shiro spat, kicking Sakura in the stomach. Aio watched silently as Shiro bent down and grabbed the girl by the front of her shirt. Bringing her close to his face, Shiro glowered. "Kyuubi's previous Jinchuuriki killed my parents after they had tried to kidnap her (1). This little monster is going to pay for that." Shiro paused, watching in satisfaction as Sakura's eyes widened in fear. "I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life then, when you're all healed and better, I'll gladly do it again."

"Shiro," Aio warned, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Ignoring his commander, Shiro pulled his fist back. His fist connected with Sakura's stomach, knocking the air out of her. Blood dribbled down her mouth and to her chin, something that seemed to excite the Kumogakure Shinobi holding her captive. He let go of her, dropping her carelessly to the ground. Sakura whimpered when she landed roughly on her knees. She leaned forward, supporting herself on her hands and panting.

Shiro cackled, holding his ribs. "This is what a Jinchuuriki can do? You're pathetic, kid. Maybe you're not even worth taking away. We'll just take away your little Hyuga friend there and leave. You're worthless."

_"Hey, do you see her?" A soft, feminine voice interrupted the silence in the park. Sakura looked up through her bangs, staring up at the two women that were sitting on the bench watching over their kids. The brunette was staring at the pink-haired girl with a disgusted look on her face. The other one, a blonde, turned at the sound of her companion's voice. She followed the woman's gaze and frowned slightly when she noticed Sakura with her head down, all alone in a corner of the park field._

"Yeah, what about her?"

The brunette scoffed. "I heard the Hokage was going to let her into the Academy next year. I don't see why. That monster doesn't deserve to be a Shinobi. She's worthless-"

"Shh," The blonde interrupted, watching as Sakura abruptly stood up and ran off.

Shiro's foot connected with her stomach, sending her crashing against the foot of Hinata's bed. Her back hit one of the legs and she coughed out blood.

_"That monster doesn't deserve to be a Shinobi."_

Shiro grabbed her by the front of her shirt and tossed her over his shoulder. She hit her shoulder against the floorboard, crying out in pain.

_"She's worthless…."_

Grabbing her by the front of her shirt again, Shiro pushed her up against the wall and started dragging her across it. Sakura hissed in pain as splinters and pieces of wood struck her back.

_"Maybe you're not even worth taking away. We'll just take away your little Hyuga friend there and leave."_

Shiro punched her in the stomach. Sakura doubled over, the wind knocked out of her. She coughed out blood, her eyes opening halfway in pain. She let out a few ragged breaths as Shiro pulled his fist back. Relief flashed through her in hope that he gave up on beating her. That relief was short-lived, however, because soon enough the same fist connected with her stomach again. Shiro let her fall to the ground onto her knees and palms. He scoffed, bringing his foot back to deliver another kick.

_"You're worthless."_

…..No….

Worthless

…Why?...

Monster

…No…..

You're worthless

…_**!**_

"You're fucking worthless!"__

Sakura's eyes shot open. She looked to her right, watching as a foot made its way towards her face. The next few seconds happened so fast, neither ninja knew what hit them.

Sakura's body was suddenly enveloped by a fiery chakra. Her beautiful green eyes turned a bloody red and her pupils diminished to slits. Her nails grew and sharpened into claws. Fangs sprouted from under her lips. Six whisker-like marks appeared on her cheeks, three on each side.

The Jinchuuriki turned her bloodlust-filled eyes to the Shinobi that had just beaten her to the ground. Letting out a silent sigh, she disappeared, only to appear crouched down behind the man. She took a swipe at his legs with her new claws. Shiro screamed in agony. He fell to his knees, clutching the back of his legs tightly. His eyes became ablaze with rage as they landed on the girl's crouching form. Her bloodshot gaze met his and a snarl made its way onto her face.

Letting out a rage-filled war cry, Shiro reached over to her. Sakura growled, biting down on his hand hard. Her fangs pierced his skin, drawing blood. Shiro screamed and swung his other arm down on her. Sakura was thrown off, slamming against the opposite wall. Blood fell down her lips as soon as her back made contact with the wall.

Shiro glowered, taking slow steps towards her. Sakura looked up, panting, as the red chakra wavered around her. Her eyes started to change colours rapidly but decided to stay on red for the moment. Shiro reached into his kunai pouch and drew a kunai, a menacing grin finding its way onto his lips. His shadow fell over Sakura and she looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw the kunai swinging down on her.

A sharp pain shot through her upper right arm and down to her palm. She gasped out as the kunai was pushed deeper into her skin, hitting muscle and tendon. Her pained scream pierced the air when Shiro dragged his kunai, still muscle-deep into her arm, down to her wrist then back again in the same injury. Blood was soon coating her entire arm and right side of her body along with Shiro's hands and chest. The man cackled, enjoying her sobs, having covered her mouth with his free hand.

Her muffled screams soon turned into whimpers. Shiro scoffed and stood up, leaving his kunai deep within her arm. He glared down at her. "You insignificant little demon. You're a nuisance. You're not worth bringing in with us. I'll just kill you right now." He pulled out another kunai then glance over at his partner. "Don't try to stop me."

"I won't."

Shiro smiled at Aio then turned back to the bleeding girl on the floor. "Goodbye, useless demon."

_…..Insignificant….._

…..Monster…..

…..Demon….

…...Nuisance….

…..Worthless….

…_**You're worthless, kit!**__..._

No.

_**What?**_

_I'm not-….I'm not worthless._

_**Yes, you are.**_

_No, I'm not worthless!_

_**Then prove it.**_

_Huh?_

_**Show me you're not useless. Correct me. Prove me wrong. I fucking dare you, brat.**_

_I'm not worthless. I'll show you, whoever you are._

_**Atta', girl. Now kill this fucker.**_

The first thing Sakura thought she was going to experience when the hit came was pain. Yet, she felt neither the pain nor the hit. All she felt was a drop of something warm land on her cheek. Opening her now green eyes, she took a sharp, deep breath when she saw what was in front of her.

Shiro was poised to launch the kunai. His eyes were wide as he gazes down at the girl. Sakura stared at the claw-like form that was going through his chest, right where his heart was at. She trailed the claw to where it started with her eyes, gasping when she saw that the chakra-like claw was connected to her bleeding arm. Her pupils dilated and her breathing began to speed up. Her form started trembling as she reached up to dig her fingers into her hair.

She was hyperventilating.

The chakra began to retreat back to her wound, where it seemed to numb the pain. Sakura looked up as Shiro's now lifeless body fell backwards. She sat up and pushed herself up against the wall, staring at the corpse in horror. _'What….What did I do? How did I do it? Was it even me?'_ So many questions ran through her head but nothing mattered at that moment besides the body lying in front of her, motionless.

Her eyes quickly looked up at Aio when he moved to check his partner's pulse. He sighed when he found none then looked at her. Sakura flinched, backing up further into the wall. She wished she could just merge with it so she could hide away from the pain and the suffering. So she could pretend this never happened and she was with Hinata, silently wishing her a happy birthday. So she could go to sleep peacefully, curled up in her sleeping bag.

So she could forget about the bleeding, motionless, _lifeless_ body in front of her.

A dull thud pulled Sakura from her thoughts. Looking up, she saw Aio fall forward, landing by Shiro's body. Her eyes drifted over to the three Anbu in the room. One was carrying Hinata in his arms while the other two checked Shiro and Aio's bodies.

A hand fell on her shoulder, and Sakura flinched away from it. Looking up, she saw a fourth Anbu crouching down by her. The Anbu held out its hand out for her. Sakura looked at it before looking up at the porcelain mask covering the ninja's face. She then looked at the bodies of the ninja who hurt her. She started trembling, turning back to the Anbu by her. She shook her head slowly, tears finally leaking out of her eyes.

The Anbu seemed to sigh then reach over to pick her up. Sakura flinched away again, a sob escaping her and shaking her small frame. She lowered her head, hiding her face and tears with her loose bangs. The Anbu took a deep breath then reached over for the mask. The ninja pulled it aside to cover her identity from her fellow Anbu. Chocolate brown eyes looked down onto the younger girl softly. "Hey," the woman spoke softly, pushing one of Sakura's bangs behind her ear. Sakura tensed, her eyes widening slightly.

"What's your name, Sweetie?"

Sakura's head snapped up at the nickname the Anbu used on her. Sweetie? No one's called her that before. She's heard how moms would call the kids like that. It was never used on her, though. And no one's ever asked for her name before, either.

Sakura looked down at the ground, staring at her blood-covered toes. "U-…Uzumaki Sakura," she whispered, releasing a shuddering breath.

The woman smiled at her gently and offered her hand again. "I'm Uzuki Yugao," The she grinned and pointed at the other Anbu in the room. "But don't tell those guys, alright? It'll be our little secret." She winked at Sakura, making the girl giggle despite the situation. Yugao smiled then offered her other hand. "Come on, let's go check that wound." Sakura blinked then looked down at her bleeding arm.

Everything that happened came back to her and the tears started falling again. She buried her face in her hands, her bangs falling down to shadow her face. Yugao cursed inwardly as she watched the girl start sobbing again. She sighed and swiftly picked the girl up in her arms. She apologized when Sakura winced in pain. Yugao, despite her arms being occupied, made a handseal and they disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

_**Konohagakure General Hospital- December 28**_

Hiruzen stared at the girl sleeping peacefully on the hospital bed, a frown adorning his aged face. He has been there for about an hour now, his gaze never wavering or leaving the girl. The steady rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was fine. However, the bands around her entire right arm said otherwise. The nurses and doctors say that it'd be a miracle for the arm and nerves to function correctly, as the kunai had cut through the muscles and tendons numerous of times.

However, the experts had been silenced as the muscles and tendons had begun repairing themselves at an alarming rate right in front of them while they had been preforming an operation to close the wound. Upon closer inspection, it was confirmed that it was the Kyuubi's chakra which was healing her ten times faster than any normal human being. It had amazed the doctors and medics but it didn't stop them from having to close the wound, hoping that the Kyuubi would heal the damaged muscles and tendons.

This was the only reason why Hiruzen was grateful for the Kyuubi inside of her.

A knock on the door disrupted his thoughts. He ordered for the person outside the room to enter. The door opened to reveal Yugao wearing simple Shinobi pants and a shirt. Her long purple hair cascaded down her back, loose from its usual ponytail. She closed the door behind her, bowing down to the Hokage before looking at the sleeping Jinchuuriki.

"How is she, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi let out a sigh. "She's making a remarkable recovery. The Kyuubi is helping in healing her wound. The doctors estimate that, if things keep going the way they are, she'll be out of here in less than a week."

Yugao let out a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding. _'I'm glad.'_ She then turned to Sarutobi. "How long has she been asleep?"

"She wouldn't go with the doctors when you turned her in. She didn't seem to trust any of them. They had to distract her to be able to sedate her. Even then, she wouldn't give in very easily. It took five doctors, two nurses and three sedatives to hold her down and calm her without injuring her even further. She slept through the operation without even a twitch. She's been asleep for over twelve hours now." Sarutobi paused turning to Yugao.

"Her chakra coils are strained. She's too young to know how chakra works, much less how to use it. I assume the Kyuubi somehow forced its chakra through her coils. I'm still stomped on whether it was to get out or help her. I guess I'm gonna' have to look over it in the reports. I've also called Jiraiya over to take a look at the seal. It's doubtful but it could've weakend." He sighed as he stood up. He rubbed his temples, looking over at Yugao through his fingers. "I called you here so you could look over her. I don't need another incident."

Yugao nodded. "I would've come anyway, sir." At the Hokage's small smile, she paused. "Hokage-sama, I've been meaning to ask you this for a long while. However, work has been hectic the past year so I've never had the time." She glanced up at him, continuing when he nodded. She turned to Sakura as a soft smile made its way onto her lips. Sarutobi watched as Yugao gazed fondly at the younger girl.

It was then that he decided that he made a great choice in choosing Uzuki Yugao as Sakura's Anbu guardian.

"If possible, I'd like to adopt Sakura."

Yes, a great choice indeed.

The Hokage wasted no time in answering. "Uzuki Yugao, you asked this of me in the morning following your assignment to this protection mission. I had answered you with a negative. You were only thirteen then and had just lost your parents. You needed to sort out certain things before you could take care of someone else. As the years progressed, your job in Anbu became hectic and busy. Just last year, you officially became an adult – both in the eyes of the Shinobi and the civilians. However, your job in Anbu is very demanding. You taking on Sakura will mean dropping off Anbu and becoming a Jonin. Are you willing to make that change?"

Yugao frowned and gazed down at the floor. Anbu was her job, her home. It's been her life for the past six years. She'd make remarkable comrades in the elites. Bear, Bird, Snake. Hell, even that pervert Kakashi was a part of her life. She had promised herself she would defend it 'til the very end. The Anbu member turned to look at the hospital bed, watching the steady rise and fall of the girl residing within it.

But looking after Uzumaki Sakura was a huge part of her life, as well. If she wasn't on a mission – which she was on most of the time because she was one of the most trusted elites – she was watching over Sakura. She especially liked watching over her during sunset, when the girl would stare out of her window in her room at the orphanage, and just enjoy watching the sun disappear and the moon take its place. The girl didn't know it, but Yugao always watched the sunset with her – albeit hiding in the shadows but she was there, nonetheless. It was her favourite pass time and she wouldn't dream of leaving it behind.

The answer to the Hokage's question came easily.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

_**Uzuki Yugao Household- Three Days Later**_

Yugao opened the door for Sakura and ushered the girl in silently. Sakura stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the house in wonder.

It was slightly larger than the houses she's seen around the orphanage. The walls were painted a bright white while the furniture was all dark in colour. There was a chimney on the wall in the living room. The kitchen was to the right while there was a hallway to the left which probably led to the bedrooms and restrooms.

Yugao smiled as she watched Sakura walk around the house, exploring every inch and cranny there was to the place. She shook her head in amusement when Sakura leaned over to look under the chimney and poked around, making a bit of ash fall on her face. She sneezed, losing her balance and falling on her rear on the floor.

Yugao snickered as she walked over and helped the girl onto her feet. She grasped her upper left arm to pull her up because she didn't want to injure her any further.

Yugao stared at the bandage that covered Sakura's whole right arm as the girl wiped the ashes off her face. The skin, muscles and tissues under it were completely healed already, thanks to the Kyuubi. However, because the gash was so long and deep, there was a scar marring her entire arm. It started at the base of her shoulder and extended down to the elbow, where it swirled to the side then continued its path down to her wrist. Though it was completely healed, Sakura didn't like the sight of it and so Yugao took it upon herself to teach her how to bandage it, seeing as the girl had somehow liked the style.

"Come on, Sakura; let's go see your new room."_****_

Said girl smiled and nodded, following Yugao into the hallway and to the second door on the right. They went into that room and Sakura gaped at what was inside. The walls were painted white, just like in the living room. The shelves, the head of the bed and the desk in the corner of the room along with the closet door were painted a deep red. However, the thing that caught Sakura's attention was the stuffed red fox sitting on the plain white sheets of the bed.

Sakura squealed and ran over to the bed, jumping on it and sweeping the stuffed animal into her arms. "Kitsune-chan! You're alright!" She squealed again, hugging the toy even further.

Yugao smiled at the scene and leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms across her chest. She gazed fondly at the girl, a chuckle escaping her lips when Sakura accidentally leaned back and fell off the bed, landing on her back. Her chuckle turned to full on laughter when she head Sakura whimpering and groaning.

Sakura looked up at her when she heard her laughing. A smile crept onto her face then she started laughing along with the older girl. Her laughter was cut short when pain erupted up her spine. "Ow, that hurt. I'm not falling off the bed again."

Yugao shook her head in amusement and smiled down at the girl. "Let's go get dinner, Sakura." Said girl looked up and nodded eagerly, sweeping Kitsune-chan into her arms and following Yugao out the door.

_**Konohagakure Streets- Next Year- October 10**_

Uzumaki Naruto stepped onto the streets, hands in his pockets and head down. Blonde short bangs shadowing over his eyes. He walked down the lonely streets towards his favourite ramen stand. The moon was up, shining down on the empty road ahead of him. The dirt road was void of its usual civilians and ninja. The light of the moon reflected his path, making it easier for him to move in the slight darkness.

A crash was heard inside an alley by him, making the boy jump at the sudden sound and look up. His light blue eyes scanned around as he nervously bit his lip. Gulping down his fear, he started walking towards the alley. He peeked around it, sighing in relief when he found nothing after scanning the area. He was about to turn to go back to the streets but someone pushed him forward.

Naruto stumbled into the alley, and fell to his knees and palms. He looked over his shoulder at the person who had just pushed him. His fearful and confused blue eyes met the hard gaze of red eyes, three swirling comas surrounding the pupils.

The man above him grinned, the light of the moon catching the glint of sharp metal in his hands.

"Happy birthday, demon."

_(Oh, yeah! I'm done! Finally. School has been driving me insane these past few weeks. Good thing it end next week. Got all the free time I need in summer. I'm so glad for a break. School's hectic work._

Anyway, there's not much to say in this author's note besides complain about the Manga's current chapter where we find out about Kabuto's past…..Tch! BORING!

(1) Kushina fell in love with Minato after he rescued her from some Kumogakure ninja because they wanted to use her special chakra. Let's just say that she took part in defeating some of those ninja and two of them just happen to be Shiro's parents.

Yes, I'm very evil. But things are coming together rather nicely (In my perspective, anyway)

Sakura is not out of the woods, yet, either. The next year will be awful for the two Jinchuuriki. These accidents will have a major toll on them when they become Genin. Sakura seems normal but she was just given a chance at a different life with a loving and caring person. Anyone would be happy about it if they were in her situation. Hmm, I've given away too much. I should stop talking.

Anywho, any ideas you guys are interested in seeing here, you can just PM me or leave me a review. I'll take it into account and give you the credit if I end up using it. That's all for now! And thanks for reading!

7th Creature)


	4. Chapter 4

_Response to reviews:_

_**Irony**__: I understand your point of view. Really, I do. I'm not gonna' say much 'cause I don't wanna' start any shit on here. You're right, I didn't show how Sakura resolved the child abuse. But I am going to ask kindly if you could just stick to the story for a while longer. There's a reason as to why I did what I did. Just hold on a little bit longer._

_**mrgirmjaw**__: That's an interesting idea, however, I feel it's too overused and unnecessary for this plot. Any more ideas you have, throw 'em at me, though, I love to hear what you guys think about it._

_**Xsd: **__Thanks for reviewing. You're right, sadly, Naruto is a little bit more mistreated than Sakura. I don't like Hinata all that much, and that's probably why I'm having a little problem developing her character but I'm trying my best. I'm also trying out to build up their past and experiences instead of having them in flashbacks like I'm planning on doing with my other stories. I'm taking it slow this time, and their relationship won't advance as fast as the other stories._

To everyone else, thank you for reading and reviewing/placing this in alerts/favourites. I'll try not to let you down._****_

Konohagakure Alleyway- October 10

Naruto stared up at the Uchiha, fear and confusion evident on his face. He stood up, taking a few steps back when he caught a glance of the kunai in the man's hand. The man grinned at this as he stalked closer to the kid. Naruto flinched and stepped back. His back hit a wall and he frowned.

The Uchiha chuckled sinisterly, his Sharingan blazing. "You killed my wife, demon." He raised his blade and Naruto's eyes widened. "Now, I'm gonna' kill you." The Uchiha swung his arm back, preparing to launch the weapon. Naruto watched as the kunai was thrown then he ducked at the last minute. Using the stunned expression on the ninja's face, Naruto pushed himself from the wall, running in between the man's open legs and out of the alley.

"Hey, get back here!"

Naruto grinned at his momentary victory. He looked back, sticking his tongue out at the Uchiha. He turned back forward, only to bump against the leg of someone else. He fell down on his backside, grunting as he pushed himself up on his elbow. The blonde looked up, only briefly seeing a blue mask and silver, gravity-defying hair before tensing up at the Uchiha's enraged voice behind him. "Sorry, pops!" The now seven-year-old yelled out to the silver-haired man as he stood up and ran around him.

Hatake Kakashi hummed as he watched the Uchiha run by him, chasing after the fleeing boy. He sighed. _'What did you do now, Naruto? And what are you doing in this part of Konoha?'_ Kakashi turned around, jumping over to the rooftops to have a good view of the scuffle.

Naruto kept running, occasionally looking over his shoulder at the ninja. The blonde looked forward, silently thanking the Anbu and other Jonin (1). His eyes brightened when he saw a fence up ahead. Though doubtful, maybe that'll delay the ninja. Picking up his space, he measured his speed and distance accordingly. Once he was in a certain spot, he launched himself into the air, barely grazing the face with his shin and landed roughly on his knees at the other side of the fence.

"Ha! Take that, you-" Naruto was cut off when he saw the ninja easily jump over the fence and land in front of him. He stood up on his feet and looked around, searching for an escape.

The blonde looked back at the Uchiha when he started talking. "You're faster than I thought," He panted out then grinned menacingly. "It won't matter. There's nowhere for you to run, little brat. I'll just beat you to a pulp here and be done with you."

Naruto gulped in fear but he stood his ground. He pointed comically at the ninja, hoping the act would somehow through him off so he could have enough time to escape. "Oh, yeah? You and what army!"

The Uchiha grinned even more as he stretched his arms out. "This army,"

Naruto looked around, fear filling his every nerve. Multiple men came out from the shadows, each of them wearing a grin that promised pain. All of their eyes were red, with those three comas around the pupil. Hope of escape quickly left him, instead being filled with regret. _'I should've never jumped that fence. It was all a trap!'_

An Uchiha stepped up, interrupting the kid's thoughts. "You reduced out clan by over twenty-five per cent when you attacked. You shall pay for what you did." Chants started going around, all asking for the same thing.

His life.

Naruto looked around frantically. _'Attacked? I've never even seen these guys before in my life!'_ His thoughts were interrupted when everyone drew out multiple weapons; really sharp weapons. Naruto slumped in defeat, turning his head away. _'Worst birthday ever…'_

The first Uchiha that had been chasing him chuckled and raised his newly drawn kunai. "You die today, demon! Uchiha! Open fire!"

The sound of metal slicing through the air was all that was heard at that moment.

_…..!_

"**Hakkeshou Kaiten**…!"

A blue orb appeared around Naruto, deflecting all of the weapons thrown at him. Naruto looked up, seeing the back of an older man with long brunette hair. "It's a good thing I called you, Hizashi. Naruto here could've died today." Naruto looked around the Hyuga, easily recognizing the blue mask and spiky silver hair. Kakashi smiled at him through the mask, raising his left hand in a greeting. "Yo,"

Naruto sighed in relief when he saw that Kakashi's right hand was holding a kunai to the leader's throat. He looked up at the man that had saved him when he spoke. "It was a pleasure, Kakashi. You were the first one at the scene when that Kumo incident happened last year. It's only fair that I return the favour." Naruto frowned in confusion but then looked at the ground in astonishment at all the weapons the Hyuga had deflected.

Just then, three squads of Anbu arrived and began to arrest the Uchiha. Hyuga Hizashi turned to Naruto and smiled down at him. "Are you alright, son?" Hizashi asked, and Naruto grinned, nodding. Hizashi placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and guided him over to Kakashi, who was talking with an Anbu captain with a weasel mask. The Anbu saw Hizashi, bowed down, and went to help his squad.

Kakashi turned to Naruto and ruffled his hair. "You're Okay, kid?"

Naruto nodded, grinning. "Yeah! Thanks a lot, mister! Thanks to you both!" He sent Hizashi a grin before turning to Kakashi again.

Kakashi ruffled his hair again, smiling down at him.

"What happened here?" The three males turned to the voice. Hizashi smiled at Yugao in a greeting while Kakashi waved. Yugao walked over, looking around the place before her eyes landed on Naruto. The blonde cowered at her hard gaze but relaxed when she smiled at him.

Hizashi turned to the scene in front of him. "The Uchiha clan ambushed Naruto just a few moments ago. I assume you know why." His eyes hardened as he looked over to Yugao.

Yugao scoffed and crossed her arms. "The Uchiha clan is beginning to cause a lot of trouble. They'll be the end of themselves (2)." Her eyes landed on the Anbu captain with the weasel mask. "Itachi seems like the only 'normal' one, and even now I still question his sanity."

Hizashi looked over and sighed, rubbing his temples. "He's the only Uchiha completely loyal to Konoha. His sanity may be questioned but his loyalty is second to only a few." The other two Jonin nodded at his words before Kakashi turned to Yugao.

"Where's your brat?"

Yugao's eye twitched. "She's in bed. And she has a name, Kakashi. Use it." Yugao glared at him, and Naruto chuckled slightly as the man started waving his hands in fear.

"Yes, yes. Uzumaki Sakura. I get it." Kakashi chuckled nervously while Hizashi smiled at them. Yugao rolled her eyes in annoyance but the smile on her face gave her away.

She knew Kakashi was just playing. He's formally met Sakura a few times – as have all of her Jonin friends – and everyone gets along with her nicely. She's a bit shy at first but once you get her out of her shell, she's quite an intelligent and cunning child. She's even helped Yugao plan several clever pranks to pull on Maito Gai when the Jonin is being a little too intolerable.

_'Uzumaki Sakura? Is she related to me?'_ Naruto looked up at the Jonin in confusion before shaking his head. _'No, Jiji-san would've told me if I had any relatives. She probably just has the same last name I do.'_

"In any case, I better get Naruto home. We don't need another incident like this." Kakashi waved the subject away before placing a hand firmly onto Naruto's shoulder. "Come on, kid, we should go."

"Alright!" Naruto grinned brightly, emitting chuckles from the Jonin around. When they turned their backs to him, his grin faltered until a frown was clearly visible on his facial features. He looked over his shoulder at the scene behind him, eyes taking in the multiple clansmen being tied and arrested. _'Why would they do that? I'd understand the pranks but I've never seen them before in my short life – and I always remember who I prank. Do they really hate me so much – for a reason unknown to me – to corner and ambush me? What did I ever do to them?'_

The boy narrowed his eyes at the fact that they were all of the same clan. He frowned, realizing that, although most of the people in the village seem to hate him, no one's ever tried a thing when it came down to getting physical. This is the first time he's had to run away for his life – excluding the successful pranks he's played on civilians and Anbu just happen to be standing by.

_'I'm not one to hold a grudge but,'_ Naruto faced forward; silently following the three Jonin into the village's populated area. _'Isn't ambushing a defenceless seven-year-old going a little too far?'_

_**Konohagakure Hokage Tower- October 11**_

The Sandaime Hokage sighed, dismissing the Anbu in front of him with a wave of the hand. He leaned forward, rubbing his temples in hopes of soothing the upcoming headache.

Tonight is probably the most troublesome night since the Hyuga-Kumo incident last year and Orochimaru's defection four years before that. First, there was a robbery in the Market Street. Anbu took care of that. Then, there was a scuffle between two Chunin over a lover. Again, Anbu took care of that. Now, most of the men in the Uchiha clan trapped and ambushed Uzumaki Naruto, a defenceless _child_ that had done _nothing_ to them. That little stunt is not only going against a law he had passed down on October 11 exactly seven years ago about not harming any of the Jinchuuriki in Konoha, but it can also be considered child abuse.

This stunt also did nothing to quell the conflict arising between the council and the Uchiha clan. If anything, it was like fanning the flames. It only made it worse. The council demanded him that he do something as soon as they found out about it. So, he had asked Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the clan, to meet with him.

Fugaku had shown no signs of going against the act his men had done. Hell, it even seemed as if he had encouraged it. Knowing how the Uchiha clan thinks and behaves, Sarutobi wouldn't need an extensive spy network to suspect that Fugaku somehow had a hand in this. The Uchiha clan is power-hungry. It's unfortunate that out of the hundreds of clan members, only two of them seem to be completely loyal to Konoha. Knowing the clan, they probably had a good enough reason – at least for them – to attack Naruto.

_'It was probably because of power,' _Sarutobi thought, knowing that he couldn't be too far from the truth. _'The Uchiha want the highest power and rank in the village, which just happens to be the council and the Kage position. The civilian half of the village – along with a certain amount of Shinobi – wants Naruto's head. If the Uchiha clan get away with killing Naruto, they'd have over half of the village on their side. There's also the fact that the Uzumaki seat on the council – which has been closed since Mito's time – could be eliminated permanently. They'd gain more power because of this.'_

Hiruzen looked down at the two solitary files on his desk with a grimace. _'If that were to happen, the entire pressure of being a Jinchuuriki would come down on Sakura's shoulder. I don't think she can handle anything else. With that Kumo incident last year and her only friend her age avoiding her like the plague, she's bound to break at any moment. Not to mention that her seal is extremely weak. Any more unnecessary strain on it could deal permanent damage to her chakra network.'_

The Hokage sighed, rubbing his temples and thinking back to the week following the Kumo-Hyuga incident.

_Hiruzen paced in front of the hospital room, his head down in thought. Where was that perverted Sannin? He was supposed to be here over and hour ago. Yugao and Sakura are inside that hospital room, waiting on him. The Hokage stopped his pacing and sighed, hanging his shoulders._

"Relax, old man, you'll get more wrinkles than necessary."

The Hokage grumbled under his breath as he looked up to greet his once-pupil. "You try having to deal with dozens upon dozens of meetings and paperwork in less than a week."

Jiraiya chuckled good-heartedly. "No, thank you. That's why I avoid this place like the plague." Hiruzen smiled at his joyous student. The man's jokes were a really good change of attitude. This week has been kind of dull, he thought as he led the Sannin into the hospital room.

Sakura was the first one to look up from the scroll she was reading. She was sitting on the hospital bed, her legs crossed. She was holding Kitsune-chan lightly. Yugao rolled up the scroll and stood up, placing the scroll in one of the pockets of her newly acquired Jonin vest. She bowed down to the Hokage then nodded at the Sannin.

Sakura beamed up at the old man that has been helping her this entire week. "Good morning, Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi smiled lightly at her. "Good morning, Sakura. How are you feeling today?"

"Great! Nee-chan was just reading to me about the Hokage!"

Sarutobi raised a brow at Yugao, who looked away in embarrassment. "She seems really interested in being a ninja. I thought she'd like to know more about our past and present heroes." Yugao explained, smiling down at the girl she considered family.

"Really, now?"

Sakura nodded at the Hokage's question. A frown took place on her face, changing the innocent atmosphere in the room. "I'm gonna' show everyone I'm not worthless, that I'm more than a demon or monster." Her eyes flicked momentarily up to the Hokage. "I'm gonna' be Hokage one day, and no one is going to stop me (3)."

Sarutobi blinked several times at her sudden declaration before a small smile broke out on his face. He nodded and reached over to ruffle her hair. "That's an amazing dream, Sakura. I'm sure you can do it." Sakura beamed at his words, ignoring the fact that her hair was probably a big mess right now.

Jiraiya hummed, and instantly all eyes in the room were on him. He looked down at Sakura and grinned. "That would make you the first female to ever become Hokage."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows, an indication that she was thinking those words over. She quickly glanced at the Hokage's hat before looking over at the pocket Yugao had placed the scroll in. What Yugao was just teaching her began rolling around in her head, searching for any clue to give that all the Hokage had been males up to now. When she found no trace of a woman being mentioned, Sakura looked up at Jiraiya and nodded warily. "Yeah, you're right."

Jiraiya grinned at her, making the girl narrow her eyes at him. She looked up at his headband with a frown. Jiraiya noticed this and chuckled, walking over to the bed. "You're pretty bright, kid. I haven't seen this much intellect since Tsunade. How old is she?" The last question was sent towards Hiruzen.

"She's turning seven on March 28."

"I see…" Jiraiya studied her with a hand on his chin, his eyes taking in every small detail about her. "Have you told her, yet?"

"No, I was hoping we wouldn't have to."

"That's impossible, old man." Jiraiya turned to the Hokage with a frown. "If her chakra network was strained, she'd have to know the reason as to why and how to prevent from damaging it any further. She just said it herself, she wants to be Hokage. She could use its power to her will if she wanted to." Jiraiya walked over to Sakura, asking her to lie down and pull up her shirt. Sakura glanced over to Yugao for permission. Yugao nodded with a small smile. Sakura did as told and pulled up her shirt to show off her stomach.

Jiraiya focused chakra to the tip of his fingers. He placed his cool fingers against her warmer stomach then pulled back. A seal appeared on her stomach. Sakura's eyes widened when she looked down at it. She looked up at everyone in the room. "What is this? It was never there."

Jiraiya looked over at the Hokage sharply. Hiruzen swathe look his student was giving him and sighed, nodding his head slowly. Jiraiya turned back to Sakura. "What I'm about to tell you, Uzumaki Sakura, is top secret information. You have to pay attention, alright?" At her nod and curious gaze, Jiraiya continued. "Six years ago, on October tenth, a terrible thing happened. A giant, nine tailed fox appeared and started wreaking havoc on Konoha. With a swing of one of its tails, it could level mountains and cause tsunamis. No one could defeat the mighty beast. No one but the Yondaime Hokage."

Her attention drawn, Sakura gave him her full attention. Jiraiya smiled sadly at her. "The fox, named the Kyuubi no Yokô, was a being made out of chakra. It was impossible for it to be killed. So, the Yondaime Hokage came up with another solution to defeat it. He sealed half of it inside a new-born baby and the other half into a six-month-old baby. The Yondaime died after sealing the Kyuubi." Jiraiya paused, not really knowing how to break the news to her. Yugao bit her lip, looking away from them. Sarutobi took a deep breath then let it out, his gaze falling onto the floor.

Sakura watched all of their reactions silently and quickly, analysing the situation and the scenario in which Jiraiya just explained to her. He said the date was October tenth six years ago. Where was she six years ago? She was just a child but she wasn't a new-born. Her birthday is on March 28. Let's see, after March comes April, May, June, July, August, September then October. That's one, two, four…'Six, I was still a six-month-old baby. That means that I…'__

Sakura snapped her head up so fast everyone in the room heard a small crack. She looked at Jiraiya pointedly. "I was the older baby. The Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi inside of me." It wasn't a question but a statement, one that shocked the three adults in the room.

Jiraiya's gaze softened. 'She's smarter than I thought.'_ He nodded at her. "Yes, you're one of the jailors of the Kyuubi no Yokô. You're one of Konoha's Jinchuuriki."_

Sakura looked down at her hands, the wheels in her head turning wildly. So, that's why everyone hated her. It wasn't her they hated, it was the demon sealed inside of her. Because of it, they portrayed her as the demon itself. And if they treated her this bad, she could only guess about the other Jinchuuriki. That said, who was the other one? And why them? Why didn't the Yondaime pick someone else?

"Who's the other Jinchuuriki?" Sakura asked, looking up at the Hokage.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry but I cannot tell you. If you two were to meet, it could cause a chain reaction. It's especially dangerous now because we don't know the status of your seal."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hiruzen sat down on the chair nearest to the bed and looked at her in the eyes. "Your chakra coils are just developing. It was safe for you two to be together the few weeks following the attack. However, because you were older, your chakra coils started developing first. We were afraid that it could cause a chain reaction because the Bijou had different hosts. It had never been done before, the same Bijou having two different hosts at the same time." Sakura frowned at this.

"Aside from that, though," Hiruzen continued, "We were wary because we didn't know if someone other than an Uzumaki could hold in the Kyuubi."

Sakura furrowed her brows. "What do you mean? My surname is Uzumaki."

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but I can't tell you about that at the moment. Maybe when you're older."

Sakura frowned and looked away, a pout forming on her lips. The Hokage smiled, watching in amusement as she reverted back to being an innocent kid instead of an intelligent child.

Jiraiya interrupted. "Anyway, I'm here to inspect the seal. Anbu had interrogated that man Aio from Kumogakure," Sakura flinched and grimaced at the mention of the village. "And Aio said that he saw a red, chakra cloak surround you and kill Shiro. We're going to take some precautions and check the seal. We don't need little ol' Kyuubi coming out, now don't we?" Jiraiya asked jokingly as he moved to examine the seal.

"No, we don't. That reminds me. Who are you?"

Hiruzen smiled as he thought back to Jiraiya's bewildered expression before he realized that he had never introduced himself to the girl. Jiraiya then had proceeded to make his infamous introduction of himself, which made the other two adults in the room sweat drop and Sakura look at him as if he had grown a second.

After Jiraiya had inspected the seal, he had confirmed that it had, in fact, weakened severely because the Kyuubi had forced its chakra through her underdeveloped chakra coils. Because of this, it was going to be quite hard for her to expand her coils as she grows older and practices more jutsu. That's why Jiraiya had promised to come over every time he could to check the seal. It was also obvious he had taken a liking to the girl. She seemed to surprise him at every chance she got.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. The Hokage told the person outside of the door to come in. Kakashi opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him. "You called, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen leaned forward, nodding. "Yes, Kakashi. I just want to thank you for saving Naruto."

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "It was no problem. I think of Naruto as a younger brother I have to protect. He's sensei's legacy and I see it as my job to protect him as well as he protects us."

The Hokage smiled. "I'm glad you said that, Kakashi, because I have to ask a favour of you."

Kakashi tilted his head to the side slightly, a questioning look in his only eye. Sarutobi smiled even more, thinking of his proposition.

"I want you to take Naruto in."

_**Uchiha Clan Compound- October 11**_

Uchiha Fugaku stormed into his house, his usual calm façade overpowered by an angry scowl. He walked into the kitchen, where he found his wife Mikoto doing the dishes. "Where's Itachi?"

Mikoto narrowed her eyes at him before turning her back to him. "Outside with Sasuke." She stopped washing the dishes and turned to him with a glare. "Why did you do it, Fugaku? He was just a child!"

Fugaku glared back. "I have no interest in speaking to you at the moment. You should know by now how important this is to the Uchiha clan!"

Mikoto slammed her hands down on the counter, leaning forward to intensify her glare. "It doesn't mean you have to take a child's life! A child that had no control over what happened! If anything, he saved us all!"

Fugaku glowered at her, grabbing her roughly by the arms. Her glared never lessened, though she did tense up at the rough contact. "You're still with that idiotic thinking? That child is a demon! He wiped out over one-fourths of our clan seven years ago! How could you side with him?"

"I'm not siding with him. I'm just saying that killing Naruto won't solve anything. It'll only get you into more trouble." Mikoto calmly explained. Fugaku scowled and let go of her. He turned to the sliding door when it opened. Uchiha Itachi and his younger brother Sasuke were standing there, the latter looking quite worried while Itachi maintained a passive face.

Fugaku turned to Itachi with a glare. Sasuke flinched back at the stare. He had never seen his father look so angry. "Why did you help the Anbu, Itachi? You could've assisted us!"

Itachi frowned. "I'm not interested in these little reckless and foolish actions the Uchiha is taking part in. Harming a child is against the law but harming a Jinchuuriki is even worse." Itachi turned away, deciding that leaving the house was an immediate alternative.

Fugaku glared at his back as he left then looked down at Sasuke, who flinched again. An idea suddenly popped into his head and he started grinning like a mad man. Sasuke took a step back, slightly wary of the crazed look in his father's eyes.

"Tou-san…?"

"Come, Sasuke, we shall begin your training immediately." Fugaku composed himself and started walking out the way he came in.

Sasuke looked on after his father with a confused gaze. He glanced at his mother, who had gone back to doing the dishes, then started following his father. It didn't matter what was going on. He was going to try his best to impress his father and surpass Itachi in any way possible.

_(Ah, done. There's nothing big to say on this chapter so I'll just leave you with the little clue thingys I did. Also, the next chapter is mostly about Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke might be mentioned here and there but nothing big. It's all about Naruto next time._

1) Naruto ran from Anbu, Jonin and Chunin whenever he pulled on pranks so I thought, "Shouldn't he be faster than the normal average seven-year-old because of this?" It's also a little foreshadowing for some of his strengths.

2) Kind of a little foreshadowing of the Uchiha Massacre. Nothing big, just that.

3) This one is of more importance. In the canon, Naruto's dream at the beginning is to become Hokage to be acknowledged by everyone in the village. As the story progresses, his idea of becoming Hokage expands and now, instead of just being acknowledged by everyone, he wants to protect them 'till his very dying breath. Sakura's situation in the canon is kinda' similar to his. Her character was one of the lot that had a HUGE change in development throughout the hardships and years. At first, she just wanted to be acknowledged by Sasuke and prove to Ino that she was not the same girl as before. After the Chunin Exams, she wanted to prove to everyone that she was not worthless. After the time skip and throughout the Shippuden Era, Sakura strived to not only prove that she wasn't worthless but to protect those dear to her.

In this, the Kumo Shinobi's words drove her to have a longing for proving herself. She thinks that becoming Hokage will show everyone just how helpful she could be. Don't worry, Naruto will still want to be Hokage. I just thought it'd be interesting to see a repeat of Minato and Kushina's situation when they had entered the Academy.

Nothing else to say but thanks for reading!

7th Creature)


	5. Chapter 5

_Answers to Review:_

_**Alec McDowell**__: First of all, I want to thank you for the review and for reading this. Second, Hinata has her reasons for avoiding Sakura. It won't be revealed until later on, of course. I always liked a fast Naruto. It kinda balances out his strength and speed. Lastly, the reason why Sarutobi is so careful when it comes to having them together in one place is in this chapter. Maybe that'll clear some things up. As for the Academy, you're just gonna' have to wait a bit longer._

_**NarutoLuver896**__: Thanks for the review. And don't worry, they'll meet and become friends. Sakura won't like Sasuke in that way so don't worry about that. Naruto finds out about the Kyuubi in this chapter. Naruto and Sakura are gonna' rivals in the aspect of becoming Hokage. Sakura won't back down and we all know Naruto will not give up. And yes, Naruto will be slightly smarter in this fanfic._

_**DarkItachi22**__: Here's the chapter. Mikoto's character is brief and to the point._

_**Monsay**__: You'll find out what Mikoto thinks here._

_**ChokeBee**__: Thanks for reviewing! Hmm, you're right. Their thoughts are not as childish as they should be but I always thought that they were both pretty smart for their age (Sakura book-wise and Naruto battle-wise). I'm just giving them a little more in this. Jiraiya will bond with both of them as time goes by – unknowingly be them, of course but he'll have a bond with both of them. Naruto's character won't be pitiful and small, you'll see that in this chapter._

To everyone else who reviews/alerted/favourite-d this, thank you! Here's chapter five!_****_

Hokage Tower- October 11

"Hokage-sama, do you really mean for me to take Naruto in? As in have him live with me?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

It's not that he hated the boy. No, he thought of the boy as a younger brother he had to protect. However, his hectic work hours and ninja carrier prevented him from being home for long. There's also the fact that Kakashi lives alone, and has no idea how to communicate daily with someone who lives with him. His father left him at an early age and Kakashi never really grew up with the love of a family. So, he does not know anything about caring for a little kid.

Besides, Naruto had a place of his own. The orphanage had burned down one night two years ago, and all the kids that had been situated there were either adopted or the Hokage had given them their own apartments because the other three orphanages that were scattered around the village had been completely full. So, the Hokage had given Naruto his own apartment suite and the boy has been living there since.

"I know what you're thinking, Kakashi, but I trust you with this. Last night's events show just how much you care for the child. There's no one else I'd ask of this."

Kakashi looked up and stared at the Hokage. "How about Yugao? She has experience with kids. She's only had Sakura for a year and they're already inseparable."

The Hokage hummed, rubbing his chin. "Yes, you're right. Sakura's turning into quite the girl." He stood up and walked over to the window. "However, we cannot allow Naruto and Sakura to meet."

The Anbu in front of the desk frowned. "With all due respect, sir, why would you want to keep them apart? Only Sakura knows the truth behind the Kyuubi attack, and even then the information you gave her was limited. Sakura lives in the western part of the village while Naruto is in the eastern. I understand her seal is weak but why go to such lengths?"

Sarutobi gazed out on his village, his eyes looking but not seeing. He thought over Kakashi's words. He had already told Yugao last year the reason for their separation. He guessed explaining it to Kakashi, the Yondaime's previous student and one of Naruto's Anbu guardians, wouldn't hurt.

"All of the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki were of Uzumaki blood. The first one was the Shodaime Hokage's very own wife, Uzumaki Mito. When she grew old, she chose someone to be her successor as the village's Jinchuuriki. Uzumaki Kushina, Naruto's mother and your sensei's wife, was chosen. Unfortunately, certain events that are still very unclear to me happened and the Kyuubi was sealed inside of Uzumaki Naruto, Kushina and Minato's son. The Uzumaki clan was deemed as the only ones to be able to hold in the Kyuubi no Yokô without any complications to their inner or outer physique."

"The tests results that were made on Sakura when she was brought in said that she was not of Uzumaki blood. Hell, she's not even close." Hiruzen paused then turned around to address Kakashi. "Because of this, I'm not sure if Sakura is able to hold in the Kyuubi or if the Kyuubi did something to her blood. Everything was going fine, even better than I imagined, until last year in the Kumo-Hyuga incident. The Kyuubi seemed to have forced its way out of Sakura's chakra coils and because of this, her seal weakened."

"We've never had two Jinchuuriki of the same Bijuu before. It's unknown to us what could happen if a Bijuu's chakra was divided and sealed into two completely different people. That's what I'm afraid of. If Naruto and Sakura were to meet, what could happen? Will the Kyuubi try to force its way out of Sakura's chakra coils, like he has already done, and try to influence Naruto? Or will it be the other way around? Can Sakura even stand being so close to another Jinchuuriki without her seal losing control? These and many more questions influence my decision to keep them separated."

Kakashi frowned even further. "But Hokage-sama, do you plan on keeping them apart forever? The village is big but not huge. They will surely meet at some point, especially if they're both planning on being Shinobi."

Hiruzen nodded and sat down in his chair. "No. I have a plan for them, Kakashi. They will not be separated forever. I plan on waiting until they're ready to face the ninja world. In fact, that's where you come in, Kakashi." Kakashi raised his eyebrow in question. "If you agree to my offer, I want you to train him daily. Maybe by the time I plan on having them meet, they'll be able to have a certain amount of experience under their belt. Yugao has already started training Sakura. It's up to you, now."

Kakashi sighed and looked off to a wall. "What about Jiraiya-sama? He's Naruto godfather." He knew he was making up excuses now. His insecurities were catching up with him. He already lost everything that was dear to him. If he got attached to Naruto and somehow lost him, he wasn't sure if he'd survive the heartache again. He was still hurting from Obito and Minato-sensei's deaths, and Rin's defection. He didn't think he'd be able to cope with another loved one's leave.

"Jiraiya is too busy tracking Orochimaru and supervising Konoha's Spy Network. He can't take care of Naruto, no matter how much he wants to."

Kakashi sighed again and looked up to the Hokage. He nodded, and was suddenly filled with the feeling of distress.

_**Konoha Streets- October 26**_

"Get back here, Naruto!"

"No way, old man! You're gonna' have to sweat to get me!"

"You need to stop pranking people!"

"Like hell I will! It's too fun!"

Naruto laughed and ducked under another villager. He looked back over his shoulder to stick his tongue out at his new guardian playfully. The blonde turned around and quickly jumped over a cart that had been crossing the road. The owners of the cart yelled after him but he ignored them. Naruto grinned as when he saw Ichiraku's Ramen only a few hundred feet away from him. He sped up, completely forgetting about his guardian.

Naruto was so caught up in thinking about the ramen he was about to eat that he didn't notice an arm had stuck out until he was grabbed by the back of his shirt. He came to an abrupt stop then hung on the air, panting slightly at the exhilaration. He looked up to the person that was holding him captive and gulped. "Uh, hiya, Purple-chan." He chuckled nervously as Yugao raised a single eyebrow.

"Can I ask why you're having so much trouble catching this kid, Kakashi?" Yugao turned to the winded, reassigned Jonin. Kakashi waved her question away, falling to the ground face-first comically.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "He's just old, that's all."

Yugao chuckled and put him down on the ground. "Whatever, kid. See you two around. Come on, Sakura, it's almost time for dinner."

At the mention of someone else, Naruto looked over to Yugao and noticed for the first time the girl standing by her. Sakura looked up at Yugao and nodded, quickly saying a goodbye to the still downed Kakashi before following her into the evening crowd.

"Who was that?" Naruto asked curiously as he watched the two females disappear into the crowd, his eyes following every detail of Sakura's movements. Kakashi sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He heard Naruto then looked in the direction the kid was staring at. He thought back to what just happened before his visible eye slowly opened wide.

_'Shit! Gotta' avoid answering Naruto's next set of questions.'_ Kakashi looked around quickly, moving his head back and forth in search for a distraction. Naruto snapped out of his daydream and looked at Kakashi like he had grown another head. It was hard to tell if he did have another head now with his head moving from side to side so fast, though.

"Uh, old man, are you Okay?"

Kakashi looked at him at the mention of his nickname, his eyebrow twitching. When the two had met again last week, Naruto had stated that he looked old because of his grey hair and he didn't show his face. Ever since then, the name got stuck to him, and it seemed as if the blonde wasn't going to let it go any time soon.

Kakashi stood up and patted Naruto's head. "Let's just go get some ramen."

"Oh, yeah!"

"But you're still gonna' be punished for pranking that man."

"Tch, you're no fun."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Inwardly, however, he was beaming. It might be weird for a normal kid his age to be happy about getting punished but Naruto wasn't normal. He was an orphan who had been forced to live on his own at the mare age of five with no one to look after him. He was lonely and could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Some kids might call him lucky but he thought otherwise.

He felt lonely. No one was there to look after him. He felt vulnerable and used pranks as a means to attract attention. Naruto felt like a nobody.

Until Kakashi showed up.

It happened out of nowhere. One morning, he was just having ramen for breakfast – he had forgotten to ask the Anbu that was usually in Hokage-jiji's office to go do his grocery shopping – when he heard knocking on the door. He opened it, to see Kakashi standing there. He had greeted him then told him to get dressed and pack up his stuff. Naruto had looked at him as if he had grown two additional heads before following his instructions.

The Jonin had taken him through the village, Naruto prodding him the entire time about their destination. Kakashi had only chuckled then led him into an apartment. The blonde had looked around, silently wondering what to expect. That's when Kakashi had dropped the bomb on him.

_"Welcome home, Naruto. You'll be living with me from now on."_

Naruto blinked and looked up when he felt his hair was being ruffled.

"You alright, kid?"

Naruto grinned at Kakashi. "Yeah!"

_**Next Year- Konoha Streets**_

Naruto sighed and kicked a rock further onto the dirt road. He had a frown on his face while his eyes glistened in boredom. Kakashi had left on a mission, so their training sessions were cancelled. It was a weekend so the Academy was closed, too.

The blonde smiled at the thought of the Academy. He has been attending the Academy for three months now. The grades had come in a few days ago, and he had been pleased when Kakashi looked at the report card only to find that the blonde was excelling in all of his classes. He wasn't the best because Uchiha Sasuke had that spot in the class. But he came in a close second. And he was proud of that. He had a good reason to. Someone was looking out for him and teaching him. Naruto wanted to make Kakashi proud.

And what better way to do it by showing him his enthusiasm of becoming a Shinobi?

"Hey there, brat."

Naruto quickly turned around at the voice but a sharp pain at the back of his neck prevented him from identifying the person. His eyes closed and the last thing he felt before passing out was the pain of hitting the back of his head against the dirt road.

When he opened his eyes again, Naruto tensed and looked around the room swiftly. A sharp pain erupted at the back of his head and he whimpered, reaching up to clutch his head. He looked around again and frowned at the darkness around him. "Hello? Kakashi-sensei, is that you?"

He was met with silence, making his frown deepen. Naruto stood up while rubbing his head. He reached out behind him and found the wall. He stepped back and leaned his back against it. His shining blue eyes scanned the area quickly, trying to distinguish something around the darkness.

The lights turned on, and he had to close his eyes to prevent them from stinging. He slowly opened them and blinked several times, adjusting them to the light in the room. He looked around the room, and found that his wrists and ankles were bound by anti-chakra ropes to the wall. He looked up, his blue eyes meeting cold dark ones.

"Uzumaki Naruto,"

Fugaku grinned sinisterly at the scared boy. He turned to his youngest son and nodded. "Alright, Sasuke. You want to prove you're better than Itachi? Kill this kid."

Sasuke stared at his father for a long moment before looking over at the blonde against the wall. "But, Otou-san …"

Fugaku scoffed and turned his back to Naruto, facing his son. "If that won't motivate you then I will tell you this. Listen closely because I'm only saying this once. This kid is a monster. He's a demon who has killed over three-fourths of our clan. His hands are stained with Uchiha blood. You must kill him."

"But, he's just a kid. He's the same age as me. How could he kill so many people?"

"He may look like a kid on the outside, Sasuke, but he's a demon. I'm assuming the Academy already explained about the Kyuubi no Yokô attack eight years ago, right?" Sasuke nodded slowly, his eyes landing on Naruto. "The Academy lied, then. The Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi. A being made of that much chakra cannot be killed. So, he did the only thing he could. He sealed it inside a new born baby." Fugaku turned to Naruto, whose eyes widened when he drew a kunai.

"The Kyuubi no Yokô was sealed into him. He's the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

_**Uchiha Compound- Main Household**_

Itachi walked into his home from the training grounds, Uchiha Shisui right behind him. Itachi froze once he noticed all of the lights were off. Narrowing his eyes, he walked deeper into the house. He slipped through all of the rooms silently with Shisui right behind him. They ended up in the living room door. They could feel a chakra signature inside; one Itachi was fairly familiar with. He slipped through the door, and froze on his tracks when he saw his mother on the floor, her hand and legs tied by chakra ropes and gagged with a piece of cloth.

"What the hell happened here?" Itachi asked as he ran inside, kneeling down by his mother. Shisui took out a weapon, searching the room for an enemy. Mikoto shook her head and started fighting against her restraints. Itachi pulled out the gag from her mouth and asked again, "What's going on here?"

Mikoto panted as she glared over at the room next door. "Fugaku got Naruto-"

"What! Where! What's he going to do with Naruto?"

Mikoto turned to glare at her oldest son. "Shut up and listen to me, Itachi. I know the kid means a lot to you but you have to listen." Itachi frowned and nodded at her to continue. Mikoto sighed and looked down. "You know I supported Fugaku in his plan to overthrow the Hokage and overpower the council in order to control the village. I didn't agree with some of their plans, though. I especially didn't believe in their plan to kill both of our Jinchuuriki just to please the civilian portion of the village."

Mikoto frowned, looking up at Itachi with pleading eyes. "I tried to stop him, Itachi. But he overpowered me, took Sasuke and Naruto, and went down to the basement. I don't know what he's doing but if Sasuke's training regime says anything, it spells out murder."

Itachi tensed and glanced over at Shisui. The older Shinobi nodded back at him and Itachi looked down at his mother. He gave a defeated sigh. "I'm sorry, Kaa-san, but what I'm about to do is inevitable." Itachi pressed a pressure point in his mother's neck. Mikoto's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slumped to the ground. Itachi stood up, walking over to Shisui. "We're going to have to start our plan earlier than expected."

Shisui frowned. "The plan is still in-progress, Itachi. We can't afford to do this now."

Itachi clenched his fists and turned to the hall leading down to the basement. "I know this, Shisui but we cannot let my father hurt Naruto or keep brainwashing Sasuke. We need to initiate the plan right now." Itachi turned and started walking down to the basement, hiding himself in the shadows and disguising his chakra signature. Shisui frowned and sighed.

"I'll start at the other side of the compound."

When Shisui heard Itachi's 'Hn' of approval, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

_**Uchiha Compound- Main Household Basement**_

Naruto stared up at Fugaku in shock. His eyes were wide with surprise and fear, along with a hidden understanding.

So, this is why everyone treated him that way. This was the reason why everyone hated him. The monster inside of him killed their families, friends and lovers. They mistreated him, taking revenge for taking away so many things from them. It all made sense now. This was why he was so alone, why only a handful of people were actually nice to him. He understood everything now. Everyone wanted their revenge on him.

And the Uchiha were no different.

"I…I can't believe this," Naruto looked up at the sound of Sasuke's voice. "It can't be, Tou-san-"

Fugaku rudely interrupted him. "Well, it is, Sasuke. Now, if you want to prove that you're better than that traitor brother of yours, kill the demon brat. Do the Uchiha proud and kill him!" Fugaku barked at his youngest son. Sasuke flinched slightly then looked over at Naruto. The blonde shook his head quickly, silently pleading him not to hurt him.

Sasuke clenched his fist as he looked at his fellow classmate then glared up at his father. "Very well, Tou-san." Fugaku grinned then handed Sasuke the kunai. Sasuke turned to Naruto, a smirk appearing in his face. He walked closer to the boy. Naruto began to struggle against his restraints. He pulled and pushed but could do nothing as the older boy walked closer to him.

"Please, Sasuke, don't do it. I haven't done anything wrong-"

"Silence! Sasuke, hurry and kill him." Fugaku glowered, and his son nodded. Sasuke raised the kunai above Naruto's head then swung down. He stabbed Naruto in the shoulder, making the blonde cry out in pain. Sasuke pulled the kunai out then stabbed it in Naruto's chest. Fugaku cackled hysterically in the background as he heard Sasuke stab the blonde, and Naruto grunt or cry in pain. "The scars, Sasuke! Cut the scars." Fugaku grinned, a maniac look in his eyes.

Naruto's ragged breath got caught in his throat when he heard the older man's words. _'No, anything but the scars. They're sensitive- Gah!' _Naruto screamed in pain when Sasuke forcefully held his head in place and traced the scars on the left cheek with the kunai. A few seconds of this then the young Uchiha turned his head to the other side, cutting and tracing at the other three scars there.

All the while, Sasuke was enjoying the praises and compliments his father was sending him. _'Finally, I'm better than Nii-san. Tou-san finally acknowledges me!'_ In his haze, Sasuke started cutting fast, deeper and harder. _'I'll make you proud, Tou-san. I'll make you forget about Nii-san and have you focus on me!'_

Naruto grit his teeth in pain, blood rolling down his forehead, mouth and cheeks. _'Why isn't Kakashi-sensei here, yet? He said he was never gonna' let something bad happen to me. Where is he!'_ Naruto felt Sasuke getting rougher and reduced his screams to grunts and whimpers with tears running down his eyes. _'I don't care who it is, I just want someone to help me!'_

"Stop it, Sasuke!"

Two sets of eyes turned to the newcomer, the dark pair widening when he saw his older brother holding a katana to his father's throat. Itachi glared at his younger brother. "Step away from Naruto, Ototou, and drop that kunai."

Sasuke's hands started shaking in anger. "Let Tou-san go, Nii-san."

"Then step away from Naruto." Itachi threw back sharply, his Sharingan activating. Sasuke tensed and turned back to Naruto. His dark eyes hardened and he plunged the kunai into the blonde's stomach. Naruto coughed out blood at the moment of impact and started to close his eyes slowly. Itachi cursed, let go of his father and ran over to get the blonde.

Itachi caught Naruto in his arms and lifted him up before turning to his family, ducking under a kunai Fugaku had thrown. Itachi glared at both males. "Why would you do this! He's just a kid!" It was rare for them to see Itachi so riled up.

Fugaku glared back. "He's the demon-"

He was interrupted when a cloud of smoke surrounded Itachi. Itachi came out of the cloud of smoke and ran up to his father, grabbing onto his shoulders. "**Bunshin Bakuha**," The Itachi grabbing onto Fugaku's shoulders exploded, sending Fugaku flying into the wall.

"Tou-san!" Sasuke yelled only to fall down to the ground when the real Itachi knocked him unconscious. Itachi turned away, lazily throwing two kunai to his father's head for a double-tap. He climbed the stairs to the kitchen and stopped when he laid eyes on his still unconscious mother.

"Where's Fugaku?" Itachi turned his head to the side to see Shisui covered in blood. The older Uchiha's eyes landed on Naruto and they hardened. "Who did this to him?"

Itachi sighed, "Sasuke. Tou-san made him do it."

Shisui clenched his fists then swiftly lodged a kunai into the back of Mikoto's head. "Let's go report to the Hokage."

_**Next Day- Root Anbu Headquarters**_

Danzo gritted his teeth in anger as he paced slowly around his office. He wasn't angry. No, he was furious. First, he had received word of Orochimaru having to move his main headquarters because Anbu had raided his last lab. Second, one of his Root members almost got caught in a traitorous act. Last, the Uchiha clan had been Massacred yesterday.

No, he wasn't mad about the Massacre. He was enraged at the fact that the ones who committed the Massacre were Itachi and Shisui Uchiha. Yes, Shimura Danzo had been the one to propose the annihilation of the Uchiha clan if Sarutobi's negotiations were to fail. Itachi had been the one assigned to do the Massacre because of his loyalty to the village. Everything had gone according to plan.

Beside the fact that one of Konoha's Jinchuuriki and Uchiha Shisui had been a part of it.

Fugaku's youngest son had attacked the village's male Jinchuuriki .While that wasn't something the Goikenban had planned for; it didn't really work against their favour. It only made the Massacre happen earlier than planned. However, the timing of the Massacre was something that had been crucial in Danzo's other plans. He had been planning on stealing one of Shisui's eyes for a while now. But it's impossible now that he's out of the village and on the run. The only one who would be able to contact Itachi and Shisui would be Jiraiya. But that old toad sage answers directly to the Hokage and Hokage only.

There was no way he could get Shisui's location.

Or was there….?

Danzo let a rare smirk cross his face. "Contact Orochimaru. I must have a word with him." He told the Root member in the room. The masked man bowed then disappeared into the shadows. _'Shisui will regret accompanying Itachi on this mission.'_

_**Konoha General Hospital**_

"So, it's true. I do have the Kyuubi no Yokô sealed inside of me." Naruto stated as he looked down at his hands. He looked – and felt – like a mummy at the moment with all of the bandages covering over half of his body. He looked up at the three men in the room. He specially narrowed his eyes on Jiraiya who – after ogling and flirting with the female nurse – had formally introduced himself. "Well?"

Hiruzen sighed and nodded. "Yes, Naruto. The Yondaime Hokage sealed the Kyuubi inside of you-"

"Why?"

Sarutobi blinked several times, slightly surprised at the barely hidden sorrow in his tone. He hated lying to the boy but it was for the best. "We ourselves don't know. We weren't there with the Yondaime when the sealing process happened. I'm sorry,"

Naruto grimaced, the bandages wrapped around his nose and cheeks rubbing against his slightly healed wounds. "It's Okay, I guess."

Jiraiya chuckled and slapped Naruto on the back, receiving a grunt of pain in return. "Cheer up, kid. Look on the bright side; you'll have more power and strength than anyone else your age! Don't you want to be a ninja?"

The blonde perked up at that. "Of course! I'm gonna' be the best Hokage this village ever had! So, you better watch out, Hokage-jiji, because I'm taking your hat next!"

The Sannin gave a small smile as Naruto started ranting about what he was going to do when he became Hokage, or how he was going to achieve that goal. _'Konoha better watch out. Looks like we have two Jinchuuriki obsessed about being Hokage. If this is what you were aiming for, you hit the nail right on the head, Minato, Kushina. These kids are an exact carbon copy of you two. Of course, they're much cuter.'_

"Oi, Ero-Senin! What're you smiling at?"

"Why you little-! Don't call me that!"

_(Hey! This one took me longer than I thought it would. There's nothing to blame besides my laziness. By the time I'm writing this, it's 6:30am and I'm running on an hour of sleep. That is the time when I got off my lazy ass and finished writing this chapter. I think my mind works better when it's night. Hmm…._

Anyway, I'm sorry if the fight (if you could call it that) between Fugaku and Itachi is brief and to the point. In the manga and anime, they show Fugaku and Mikoto dying out of a simple swipe to the throat/head with a sword. I didn't want to make too much of a change in the massacre (though I guess having Shisui survive is a big enough change already).

Quick thing about Shisui's character. I looked him up in different kinds of places and no one seems to have a good description of him (Besides the Naruto Wiki). I'm going to be building up his character because he has a huge role in this.

I'm making Danzo suffer! I have lots of plans for him in the future, so watch out for Root.

Naruto met Jiraiya. You guys didn't think I would leave Naruto's godfather out of his life. Tch, where would the fun in that be? Next chapter is a time skip, and I'll show more of Sasuke's thoughts about the Massacre, Itachi and Naruto. 'Till next time!

7th Creature

P.S: It might take a while for chapters to come up. My band's going through a hard time right now and that's my priority this summer. So, I apologize beforehand if chapters are coming in too slow.)


	6. Chapter 6

_**Five Years Later- Ninja Academy- Graduation Day**_

"I want to congratulate you all on your becoming of Genin. This is a new phase in your life. You will go through…-"

Uzumaki Naruto tuned out everything Iruka-sensei said next, deciding to just lay his head down on the table. He closed his eyes and reached up to ruffle his head, making his longer blonde bangs cover his eyes. The Hitaiate on his forehead prevented the bangs from covering his eyes completely, and he scowled in realization. Deciding it was useless to try to catch a nap, Naruto looked up and surveyed the classroom.

Out of the twenty-seven students that had been in the classroom this year, only twenty-three passed the graduation test. And that deeply confused Naruto. He had seen teams of Genin consisting of three or four Genin and one Jonin. However, it was an odd number. There would either be one team of two Genin or two teams of four. It honestly didn't seem fair, especially after Kakashi had told him that only three out of all graduating teams were selected.

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts when he heard shuffling coming from beside him. He looked around to see the other Genin leaving the room. He stood up, and started heading towards the door but Iruka's words stopped him. "Naruto, would you please come here for a second?" The blonde blinked and nodded, smiling when he stood in front of his sensei.

"What's up?"

Iruka smiled down at him softly then ruffled his hair. "How'd you learn the Kage Bunshin no jutsu? Last time I checked, you had failed miserably at the normal Bunshin no jutsu."

Naruto chuckled and went to scratch the back of his head. "Well, you see, sensei, Kakashi-sensei taught it to me." When he saw the scarred brunette's raised brow, he explained more. "I suck at the Bunshin because I don't have very good chakra control, so I put too much into the technique, no matter how hard I tried to lower it down a notch. Kakashi-sensei helped me once he saw my predicament. He taught me the Kage Bunshin, and it was awesome! It's thanks to that that I managed to graduate."

Iruka smiled and shook his head. He jerked his head towards the door. "Well, then. Why don't you go on home? I'll go treat you to ramen when I get out of work, yeah?"

"Really?"

"Of course. You deserve it."

"Thanks a lot, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka watched as Naruto grinned and ran out of the room, throwing a wave at him over his shoulder. Iruka smiled sadly, _'I'm sure gonna miss that kid.'_ He sighed then looked up at the clock above the blackboard. _'She should be here any time soon,'_ Just as he finished that thought, the door of the classroom opened and Uzumaki Sakura walked in. Iruka smiled at her. "Right on time, Sakura, as always."

Sakura smiled up at him and nodded. "Of course, Iruka-sensei. I'm not going to miss my graduation exam."

Iruka chuckled. "Let's get started, then."

_**Uzuki Household- Graduation Day**_

"Sensei! Yugao-sensei, I'm home!" Sakura called out as she entered her home, taking off her ninja shoes and placing them by the door. She walked into the living room, frowning when she saw no one there. "Yugao-nee?" Sakura sighed when she got no answer. She turned to head into the hall but the sound of metal slicing through the air was heard. Caught slightly off guard and reacting too slow, Sakura was only able to duck and roll to the side to avoid the possible fatal wound.

The Jinchuuriki stood up, quickly drawing a kunai and getting in a defensive position. Her glare softened when she saw her mentor and guardian in front of her, smiling. She straightened up, putting the kunai back in the holster. "Why'd you-?"

Just because you graduated, Sakura, doesn't mean you can relax. You could be attacked any minute, by anyone. Always be on guard, alright?" Yugao smiled down at the girl and walked over to ruffle her hair. A glint of metal caught her attention and she blinked in sudden surprise. Crouching down to see what it was, she was pleased to find a Hitaiate tied loosely around the girl's neck. "Well, well, what do we have here? A Hitaiate? I'm guessing congratulations are in order."

Yugao stood back up and grinned, patting the girl's hair. "Great job, Sakura. I'm extremely proud of you." Sakura smiled up at her, the whisker-marks on her cheeks becoming more pronounced than before. Yugao noticed this then realized something. _'The older she gets, the more noticeable they are. Hope they don't become a problem in the future.'_ She watched as Sakura started taking in her Jonin uniform, her smile lessening. Yugao noticed that the whisker-marks were still there, not as noticeable, but still faintly there. _'How come I didn't notice this before?'_

"Are you going somewhere, Nee-chan?" Sakura asked as she looked back up at her guardian.

Yugao smiled. "Yeah. The Hokage called me in earlier. I was just heading out." When she saw Sakura's sudden downed gaze, she added, "Don't worry. When I come back, we'll go out for diner to celebrate your graduation. How's that sound?"

Sakura grinned up at her and nodded, reaching up to grab her left shoulder with her right hand; a habit she had whenever she was pleased or embarrassed. Yugao chuckled and turned to leave. She seemed to remember something and turned back to her. "Read up on your tracking and sensory scrolls. That's the first thing I'm training you in after you meet your team tomorrow."

Sakura nodded again. "Alright, Nee-chan. See you later." Sakura turned to go to her room. She narrowed her eyes slightly at the floor and frowned. _'I wonder what my team will be like…'_ She thought in anticipation.

Sakura had no idea what to expect. She was never in a class in the Academy, besides that first year where they gave a Kunoichi's only class. Ever since then, she's been taught solely by Iruka-sensei. At first she was confused as to why she couldn't be in the Academy like the rest of the kids. As time passed and she began to understand her situation more clearly, she realized that she in particular was a danger to the other kids because of her weak seal. Not only that, but she still had some damage emotionally and psychologically. At the mere mention of Kumogakure, she becomes a little frantic.

That first year in the Kunoichi class, all she was taught was about gardening and herbs, and while absorbing every lesson she was taught, Sakura saw little point in taking that class. She also didn't particularly liked that class because she was never able to make friends. In fact, they teased her. If it wasn't for her slightly bigger forehead or pink hair, it was for the whisker-marks that appeared on her face whenever she would smile or frown, or the fact that she was always alone.

Everything went downhill, though, when she saw that Hinata tried to avoid her I all ways possible. That hurt Sakura the most. Your best friend turning away from you in fear…Sakura didn't wish it on anyone else.

After that year, she started taking classes with Iruka-sensei, seemingly the only teacher in the Academy that didn't hold any grudges against her. In fact, he seemed cheerful whenever she would come to him after he was officially done with his class or when she greeted him at the market place. It was a good change of pace, being with Iruka. He knew what she had gone through, having been an orphan himself and sharing advice with her whenever she felt doubtful. He was like an older brother to her, and she absolutely loved him for it.

Sakura blinked and looked around in her messy room. She scratched the top of her head for a second as she surveyed the room. She sighed after a moment of reflection. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to clean all of this up." She looked around again and sweat dropped. "Since when did I put kunai there?"

_**Hokage Tower**_

"-And Team Ten will be Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino with their leader Sarutobi Asuma. Please take time to review and reflect on your team and meet them at the Academy tomorrow after lunch. Everyone is dismissed. Uzuki, Hatake and Yuuhi, please stay." Sarutobi ordered and watched as the Jonin filed out of his office, the three aforementioned ones walking over to stand in front of his desk.

He waited for the door to close before turning to the three Jonin in front of him. "I assume you know why you're still here…?" He received two nods and a confused look. He smiled at Yuuhi Kurenai and pushed three files over to her. "We have three very important cases this year. One is Uzumaki Naruto," He pointed at the first file Kurenai picked up, "His marks are remarkable when it comes to hands-on practice. However, his written exam and practices are quite low, marking down to being the last of his class in this category." The Hokage shot Kakashi a look. Kakashi chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"That's not what troubles me, though. It's the fact that he's one of our Jinchuuriki. Not many people like him, and his prankster status doesn't help him. The other problem has to do with the fact that his classmate, Uchiha Sasuke, has a burning hatred for the boy. Sasuke is our other case. His marks are the best, as expected from the Uchiha clan. However, he is mentally unstable and his hatred for Naruto is endless. Naruto seems to follow on the same track. We've managed to avoid a bout between them for now but if they're put on the same team, I'm afraid that time will come."

"Our last case is our other Jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Sakura. Like the other two, she's also mentally unstable. Her seal is weak, not as weak as it was when she was younger, but it's weaker than Naruto's. Because of this, I've kept them apart since Naruto was only three months old. While Sakura doesn't have a bitter rival or comrade, she's hesitant when the topic of Kumogakure is presented to her. So, I'm giving you, Kakashi and Kurenai, the opportunity to pick you squad. Yugao, you're here to give either Jonin your insights and advice."

Kurenai was still looking through the three children's files, a frown marring her face while she read. Kakashi decided he'd start, seeing as her fellow Jonin was preoccupied. "What are their relations with their fellow Genin?" He asked with a slightly serious air about him.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair. "Sasuke is quite the antisocial, Naruto is ignored most of the time but his relationship with Inuzuka Kiba is strong, and Sakura hasn't met any of them. However, Hyuga Hinata used to be her best friend. Hinata's been avoiding her for the past six years, probably in fear as she knows about the Kyuubi."

"What are the team candidates?" Yugao asked. It might not be her place to ask that question but she was curious as to what the Hokage had in store for them.

He answered within a heartbeat. "Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Sakura are the candidates."

Kurenai frowned and looked up from the papers. "This is quite a predicament. On one team, we could have a tracking team. On the other, it could specialize in special abilities. However, because of Naruto and Sasuke's hatred, we could have a crumbling team. Also, an Uchiha and two Jinchuuriki in a team would break the balance the teams have. Does Sasuke know that Sakura has the Kyuubi inside of her, as well?"

"No, but Sasuke is smart. He'll make the connections."

"Then maybe his hate will transfer over to Sakura and their teamwork might collapse. Kiba and Naruto have a strong friendship. Hinata is scared of Sakura because of the Kyuubi. If she finds out about Naruto having it inside of him, too, imagine the chaos." Kakashi stated with a sigh. So, picking teams was going to be as hard as he had first thought it would.

Yugao frowned. "That leaves either Shino and Kiba to be placed in Naruto and Sakura's team, then. The Aburame clan members are closed and like to keep to themselves-"

"Let's not forget that Naruto and Kiba are great friends. It could benefit their teamwork." Kakashi interrupted her, looking over to the Hokage.

Sarutobi smiled. "It's settled, then?" The three Jonin looked at each other and nodded. "Very well, then. Now, who will lead what team?"

_**Next Day- Ninja Academy**_

"Iruka-sensei!" Said teacher blinked and turned around, stopping in his tracks to greet the one who called him. Sakura ran down the street over to him, and when she was standing by him, smiled. "Good morning, sensei."

Iruka grinned back down at her. "Good morning, Sakura. Are you excited for today?" He opened his eyes and frowned when he saw Sakura looking down at the ground sadly. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Sakura looked up at him, "I'm excited to get a team but…What if they don't like me? What if they only see the monster, and not me?"

The Academy teacher's gaze softened and he placed a hand on her head, a small smile on his lips. "Don't worry, Sakura. I'm sure you'll have amazing teammates and you'll become an amazing team. You want to be Hokage one day, right? I'm sure your teammates will help you accomplish that dream."

Sakura stared at him before smiling softly. "You're right. Thanks, sensei."

Iruka chuckled. "Anytime. Now, come on, we need to get started." Iruka pushed her gently over to the classroom door and snickered when he heard her gulp. He saw that she was too nervous to reach up to the door so he opened it himself and pushed her in gently, the chatter of the room dying down when the two entered. Iruka leaned down and whispered in Sakura's ear, "Why don't you go on and take a seat? I'm going to start soon."

Sakura nodded quietly and started walking up the stairs, her eyes scanning the classroom quickly.

Over at the back of the room, Naruto had been staring at Sakura ever since she came in. His best friend, Inuzuka Kiba, chuckled and closed the blonde's hanging mouth. "You'll catch flies like that, baka." Kiba said, snapping Naruto out of his daze.

Naruto pulled the brunette towards him. "Who's that? I've never seen her before."

The Inuzuka shrugged, "Maybe she took some private lessons or something. One thing's for sure; she looks more like a kunoichi than any of the other girls around here."

Naruto grinned, having noticed that, too. "Yeah,"

His eyes roamed over her attire, taking in the black shirt short-sleeved shirt with red linings, the fishnet under that had sleeves reaching down to her elbows. She had a black and red skirt that reached mid-thigh with fishnets that reached down into her black ninja boots. Covering her hands were a set of black fingerless gloves. She had a red headband holding the bangs from her face, and she had changed the blue band of the Hitaiate to a black band, and tied it around her neck. But it wasn't the attire that attracted him, nor was it her pink coloured hair. It was her eyes. Her eyes were the deepest and most beautiful green he had ever seen. He'd get lost in them if he could.

Iruka's next words snapped him out of his thoughts. "Team Seven will consist of Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba-"

"Hell yeah!" The two boys called out, giving each other a high five before Naruto went to give Akamaru, Kiba's familiar, a treat from his weapon holster.

The teacher rolled his eyes at the expected reaction before looking down and smiling slightly at the next name. "Calm down, you two, I'm not done, yet. Team Seven will consist of Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Sakura."

At the mention of her name, Sakura looked up from observing the class. Iruka smiled and pointed over at the two pranksters with his pen. She looked over, raising her eyebrow at the two boys. They were staring at her, the blonde one with his mouth hanging open. Then he blinked and sent her a grin, waving at her slightly. Sakura smiled and waved back. She turned back to Iruka, oblivious to the party going around in the blonde's head at her response.

"Did you see that? She waved back! She even smiled!" Naruto whispered excitedly over to his best friend, not bothering in listening to the other teams. The next one did catch his interest, though. _'Sasuke got paired up with Hinata and Shino? Wow, sounds kind of boring. They're all so quiet and reserved. Hopefully, Sakura-chan won't be like that.'_ Judging by her response, though, she wasn't.

Kiba chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm. "Looks like blondie here has a crush on pinkie over there, huh, Akamaru?" He looked up, the dog coming out of his hood and yelping in agreement.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Kiba childishly before looking back over to their remaining teammate. "Nah, man, just glad we didn't get any of Sasuke's fan girls. I really do feel sorry for Shikamaru and Chouji for being paired up with Ino." Naruto sent Nara Shikamaru an apologetic smile, to which he received a muttered "Troublesome."

Kiba looked relieved to hear that but then frowned. "But wait, how do you know Sakura's not one of Sasuke's fan girls?" Naruto thought about this before cursing, hoping against hope that Sakura wasn't in fact one of Sasuke's fan girls.

The bell rang, dismissing the newly promoted Genin for lunch. "We should ask her to join us for lunch. You know, to get to know each other better." Naruto suggested as they stood up. Kiba nodded and Akamaru gave a bark.

"Hey," Sakura looked up from adjusting her gloves to find that her seemingly two teammates were in front of her. Her eyes were quick to take their forms in.

The taller one was a brunette with wild, spiky hair. He had cat-like eyes and two red fang-like marks on his cheeks. He had fangs, something she found to be utterly awesome. He was wearing a grey hoodie, the hood's rim covered with black fur. He also had grey pants and a black shirt underneath his opened hoodie. He had changed the band of the Hitaiate to black and tied it around his forehead. There was a white little dog perched on his head, making his longer bangs cover the top half of his eyes. He seemed used to it, though.

The other one was blonde with even wilder, longer and spikier hair. He had the most beautiful and striking blue eyes she had ever seen. He had a black vest over a blue shirt with orange lines along the sleeves. He had black ninja pants and black ninja sandals. His Hitaiate's band was blue and it was tied securely around his forehead. What struck her the most, though, were the whisker-marks. The same whisker-marks she had.

Sakura blinked, snapping out of her daze, and smiled at them as she stood up. She was the same height as the brunette, with the blonde one being the shortest by probably two inches. "Hey, you're my teammates, right?"

The brunette grinned. "Yep! I'm Inuzuka Kiba and this is my partner, Akamaru. Say hi, boy." Akamaru barked at her then jumped onto her shoulders, sniffing at her neck. She smiled and patted his head. She looked up when Kiba spoke again. He grabbed the blonde one by his neck and pulled him closer. "And this baka over here is Uzumaki Naruto but you can call him Dobe."

"Gah! Kiba!" Naruto complained as he tried to free himself from his friend's grip. When that proved to be useless, he smiled over at Sakura. "Hey, there- ttebayo." His eyes widened and a small blush covered his cheeks. "Sorry. I've been trying to stop saying that for a while, now."

Sakura giggled, and the boys decided that it was one of the best sounds they had ever heard. She waved the blonde off. "That's cute. I'm Uzumaki Sakura. I never thought I'd meet someone else with the same last name."

Naruto blinked then realized their surnames were the same. "Hey! I just noticed that."

Kiba rolled his eyes while Sakura chuckled. "Ignore him. He's pretty slow sometimes."

"Kiba!"

Akamaru suddenly barked and started licking Sakura's cheek. Sakura smiled while Kiba started freaking out. "What! Akamaru, what are you doing?" Akamaru barked again then jumped onto Sakura's head. He nestled himself there, making Sakura chuckle again. _'Lucky dog,'_ Kiba thought as he watched Sakura reach up and scratch his dog behind his ear. He blinked when Akamaru started purring like a cat. _'Okay, he's an extremely lucky dog.'_

Naruto looked around and found the classroom to be empty besides the four of them. "Hey, everyone's off to lunch already. We should go." At Kiba's nod, Naruto turned to Sakura. "Wanna tag along?"

Sakura blinked in surprise then smiled. _'Iruka-sensei was right.'_ She nodded, reaching up to pick up Akamaru and place him on her shoulders. "Sure. I'd love to."

_**Ichiraku's Ramen Shop**_

After much debate and finding that they had extremely different tastes in food, they settled for Ichiraku ramen, complying with Naruto's wishes. As they sat at the bar, they talked animatedly about training and future missions. Naruto and Kiba found out that Sakura was actually not into dating boys at the moment – something that disappointed both of them – and just wanted to focus on her ninja career. It was a great relief to find that she had no idea who Uchiha Sasuke is but also regretted the day when she would meet him.

"When did you get Akamaru, Kiba?" Sakura asked, and Akamaru barked in content for being the centre of attention. He was sitting on Sakura's lap, eating from a smaller bowl on the counter.

Kiba grinned, "Kaa-san gave him to me when I tuned ten. We've been together since then, right, boy?" Akamaru barked in agreement, licked his partner's hand then went back to his food.

Naruto smiled at the interaction. "I've always wanted a partner like Akamaru but not a dog. I like foxes better." Naruto bit his tongue at the end of the last sentence, glancing over to Kiba and Sakura to make sure they didn't notice his slip of tongue. Kia shot him a warning glare before they settled their eyes on their female teammate.

Sakura was petting Akamaru. She smiled over to Naruto. "Yeah, foxes had always seemed to draw my attention. They're pretty clever animals." She looked back down at the puppy in her lap. An idea popped into her mind and she quickly turned to Kiba. "Can foxes be familiars and trained just like dogs in the Inuzuka clan?"

Kiba furrowed his eyebrows in thought before nodding. "Any animal can be a familiar and can be trained. It just takes time and commitment to do it."

Sakura looked over Kiba's shoulder to stare at Naruto. "What if we get familiar foxes and train them? I mean, Kiba and Akamaru specialize in tracking by smell. Maybe we could find something else that could compliment the team. It's only fair that we get familiars, too." Sakura deduced, unconsciously rubbing Akamaru's ear.

Naruto turned to the counter to think about it. It wasn't the idea that made him think. It was the fact that Sakura didn't have anything against foxes. Hell, she even seemed to love them! It was plus point on to him but he was still unsure of it all. First, it was the last name that had him confused. He had been pretty sure that he was the only Uzumaki in the village. Second, it was the whisker-marks. Maybe it was a family trait but if you thought about it, they really couldn't be related. They looked nothing alike and their blood type wasn't even close to being similar – as they had found out earlier. Now, she seemed to share the same enthusiasm about foxes that he does.

Something smells fishy and it's not just the shrimp ramen he's eating.

Coming out of his thoughts, Naruto turned to Sakura and grinned. "Sure! It sounds like fun. What do you think, Kiba?"

Kiba grinned smugly. "Sounds like a good idea but Akamaru will still be the best in the team."

Naruto grinned back, pumping his fist. "Oh, yeah? Just you wait! We are going to show you two off, right, Sakura-chan?"

"Damn straight!" Sakura added, smirking over at her two newly made friends. She suddenly stopped to think then leaned over to look at Naruto. "But wait, where do we get the foxes?" This got Naruto thinking. Where do they get the foxes?

Kiba shrugged. "My sister is a vet. Maybe we can go ask her after we meet up with our sensei?"

"The plan's all set, then!" Naruto chuckled, bringing his hands up behind his head. Sakura nodded in agreement and smiled.

Kiba looked in between them and smiled. _'Yeah, I could get used to this.'_

_**Ninja Academy- Noon**_

"-Then, the guy opens the door, triggering the trap, and like hundreds of paint-filled balloons were thrown at him! I don't think the shower that night was enough to get the paint off him." Naruto laughed, and soon Kiba and Sakura had joined in with him. Akamaru barked twice before settling back inside Kiba's hood.

"Damn, Naruto, what did Kakashi say? Did you get in trouble?" Kiba asked, wiping the tears from his eyes. Sakura was gasping for breath, holding herself up against the wall and cradling her sides.

Naruto grinned. "They never caught me. The owner thought it had been the Genin that had been assigned to help him clean up his shop. They had to clean up again afterwards." The three teammates snickered as they entered the classroom, the chatter quickly dying down. They paused. "Who died?" Naruto asked suddenly but Sakura elbowed him gently in his ribs. He smiled on after her as she went over to sit down.

As Sakura was passing the third row, Yamanaka Ino decided to talk to her. "Hey, Sakura, was it?" Sakura stopped and turned to her, nodding. Ino smirked. "Well, just for your information, Sasuke-kun is off limits because he's mine." The classroom became quiet again at that statement. None of the other fan girls dared to even object to it because they knew that when Yamanaka Ino declared her love for the Uchiha prodigy, no one could mess with her.

Sakura frowned at her. _'Really? Is that what all girls my age think about? Dating boys? Whoever this Uchiha Sasuke is must be really fucking handsome, or else I'd be pretty disappointed; even more so than I am at the moment. Huh, this is why Shinobi always looked down on us Kunoichi. Most of us don't take our job seriously.'_ Sakura sighed then turned around. "Keep him; I'm not interested in dating at the moment. I'd rather learn how to survive in the ninja world than learn how to be a house wife."

"Oh! Burned!" Naruto laughed, high-fiving Kiba then wrapping his other arm around Sakura's shoulder when she sat down by him. "That's my teammate! Oh, yeah!" He grinned and Sakura shook her head while rolling her eyes. But the smile was clear on her face. She looked back over to the fuming Ino before sighing.

"Who's this Sasuke guy, anyway? Is he here?" Sakura asked them, gently shrugging off Naruto's shoulder. Naruto suddenly grew silent, his eyes becoming hard and cold.

"Yeah, it's that brooding guy over there." Kiba muttered, pointing over at the Uchiha. Sakura turned to look at him and examined him.

Sakura frowned after a moment. "I don't see why they like him so much. Kinda looks like a jerk."

Naruto glared at the Uchiha's back. "He is." Sakura raised her eyebrow at this then looked at Kiba for an explanation but the brunette only shook his head and looked away. Sakura looked back at the way Naruto was glaring at Sasuke before frowning.

_'I wonder what happened between them,' _Sakura thought then shifted her attention to the Jonin that just came in to gather his team.

After about half an hour, only three teams were left in the room: Team Seven, Team Ten and Team Eight. The room was silent, with the exception of Akamaru's occasional barks. Naruto groaned suddenly, "Oh, for the love of the Hokage, when is our sensei going to get here?" He complained, leaning back in his chair and gazing at the ceiling.

"Well, we could discuss our jutsu. We're going to be working as a team, right? We should know each other's strengths and weaknesses." Sakura suggested with a shrug.

Kiba chuckled and turned to Naruto, pointing his thumb over at his female teammate. "You know what? I like her. We should keep her." Sakura rolled her eyes and slapped the offending thumb away.

"I'm serious. We're going to be depending on each other out there. We should learn everything about each other. We need to trust one another other." She said, narrowing her eyes at the way Kiba looked away innocently.

"Everything?" Naruto whispered lowly, hoping they didn't hear him. He didn't want to tell Sakura about the Kyuubi. What if she rejected him? It's happened one too many times. He didn't want to lose his new friend.

Sakura heard him. "Yes…Everything." She herself didn't like it one bit. She didn't want them to find out that the Kyuubi was sealed inside of her. She didn't want them to fear her or look at her differently than they do now. They were the only friends she had now. She didn't want to lose them.

Kiba frowned inwardly as he stared at Sakura. He liked her simply because she was different. Hopefully, that means that she won't fear Naruto if he tells her about the Kyuubi. Yes, he knew. Naruto had told him one time when he had been over at his house, and the dogs in the compound started sniffing and barking at him. Kiba had demanded an explanation as to why the dogs reacted that way, and after Tsume had a brief talk with the blonde, Naruto finally told him.

"Alright, then. What jutsu do you know besides the three basic Academy ones?" Naruto asked after a brief moment of silence. He sighed in relief when Sakura's attention was drawn to the topic.

"Ninpou: Kyoukasui," Sakura answered, receiving two blank stares. "It's a Ninjutsu that uses flower petals made out of explosive notes. It circles and contains the victim, allowing me to make an additional attack."

Kiba grinned. "Awesome! So, you're like into explosives and stuff?" At Sakura's nod, he turned to Naruto. "Oh, yeah, we're keeping her." Kiba chuckled then pouted when Sakura playfully punched his shoulder. "Well, Akamaru and I can use the Juujin Bunshin. We have to take a pill to help out with our strength and stamina. Then, Akamaru turns into a clone of me and he can do whatever I can do."

"Oh, I wanna' see!" Naruto said, grinning up at the brunette.

"Not in here, though. Maybe later," Kiba suggested then snickered at Naruto's yell of excitement. "Alright, blondie, what about you?"

Naruto stopped cheering before he reached up to scratch the back of his head. "I can use the Kage Bunshin no jutsu."

Sakura gaped at him. "But that's a Jonin level technique!"

"Yeah, man, how could you do that?"

Naruto blushed in embarrassment. "Well, I have a lot of chakra but not enough control over it. I couldn't do a normal Bunshin right because of that, so my guardian showed me the Kage Bunshin. I got it right off the bat."

Sakura blinked at the explanation before smiling. "That's amazing." Naruto blushed even further at the compliment, muttering a "Thanks" under his breath. She managed to hear him and that only made her smile even more.

Kiba, slightly jealous of this, decided to bring the conversation back on track. "What about special abilities? Akamaru and I can track down just about anything by smell." He gloated, Akamaru giving a yelp.

Naruto grinned. "I can see in the dark clearly without using any chakra to enhance my vision. Now that I think about it, it's probably the reason why my eyes are so bright."

"I have a high sense of hearing. Anything you guys whisper between yourselves, I'll hear it. Just a warning," Sakura winked at them, and despite the action being for just teasing them, it made the two blush.

"Team Seven?" Said team looked over to the door. "Please, come with me." Kakashi smiled at them through his mask then turned to leave. The team hurriedly followed him up to the Academy's roof top, where they sat down in front of him. "Very well, then. We should start with introductions, despite the fact that I already know the three of you. I just want to follow protocol. I'll give you an example. My name is Hatake Kakashi, I like reading (Naruto scoffed), training and going on missions. I dislike those who treat their comrades like trash. My hobbies are training and reading. My dream…I've actually never thought about it. You're next, Inuzuka."

"My name is Inuzuka Kiba and this is my familiar Akamaru. I like dogs and training. I dislike liars and judgemental people. My hobbies are walking Akamaru and helping my sister out in her vet office. My dream is to become the best tracker Konoha has ever known!" He grinned at the end and Akamaru barked in support. Kakashi nodded then turned to Sakura, who was seated in between the two boys.

"I'm Uzumaki Sakura. I like dumplings and foxes. I hate people who think highly of themselves or those who stomp down on others. My hobbies are spending time with Nee-chan or training with her." Sakura's eyes hardened, her voice filled with determination. "My dream is to become Hokage to show someone that I'm not worthless; that I'm more than just a piece of trash."

The boys stared at her intently after her speech. Kakashi hummed then nodded, pointing over to Naruto.

The blonde turned away from his teammate and turned to Kakashi. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen and pranks. I dislike the Uchiha and those who hurt others for no reason. My hobbies are spending time with friends or training with Kakashi-sensei." Naruto smiled here, pumping his fist into the air. "My dream is to become the best Hokage this village has ever known. That way everyone will have to acknowledge me."

Naruto and Sakura turned to each other, a silent conversation passing on between them. At that moment, they declared themselves as rivals for the title of Hokage. Smirks were seen on their faces as an agreement was reached between the two. They turned back to Kakashi when he cleared his throat.

"Alright, then. You're all unique in your very own way. Now, tomorrow we will be doing our very first exercise as a team. You are to meet me at training ground three at seven o'clock sharp." Kakashi paused, deciding against telling them the percentage of them failing this test. _'We have a stronger batch this year. I'm certain of it.'_ Kakashi thought as he looked at each of them in their eyes. "You're dismissed. Naruto, I won't be coming home for a few more hours so why don't you go ahead and get dinner without me?"

The blonde nodded then grinned. "Sure thing, sensei. See you at home." Kakashi gave the team a lazy wave before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Sakura turned to Naruto. "You live with Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, he's my guardian."

Kiba came up in between them, throwing his arms around their shoulders and starting to walk towards the stairs. "Let's go to my sister's office to go check that thing about your foxes."

The blonde chuckled then slipped away from his grasp. He tuned to the railing. "We're ninja now, Kiba! We don't need staircases!" Naruto called out then jumped off to the rooftops. Kiba laughed then jumped after the blonde. Sakura smiled after them and looked down at her feet to see Akamaru watching them, wagging his tail.

"Let's go," Sakura told him and took off when he yelped in agreement.

_(And this is what +48 hours without sleep does to you. I know, it's not healthy. But like I said before, I've been quite out of it for a while now. Finding out my mother has cancer is very hard to come to terms with. I also apologize for taking a while, and for not answering your reviews or questions in this chapter. If you leave a review and/or a question, I'll answer it on the next chapter. I can't promise a specific date but I'll try not to make you wait so long for it. As always, please leave a review and thank you for reading._

7th Creature)


	7. Chapter 7

_**Unknown Territory**_

"Where's your blue, little partner, Itachi?" A suave voice sounded throughout the clearing. Three shadows met at the middle. It had been the tallest one of them who had spoken.

"Kisame is of no concern." Itachi answered, dark and cold eyes shifting over to the one who had spoken. He handed a red scroll over to him, then a blue one to the other one, who had been quiet this whole time. "Shisui," said man looked up from his scroll, "Orochimaru's on the move."

Shisui's eyes darkened. He nodded. "I'm aware. His target is plenty obvious."

"Sasuke." The third member finally spoke up; the light tone of voice indicating it was a woman. They two Uchiha turned their gaze towards her as she spoke again. "He wants the Sharingan. He failed in getting yours, Itachi, and Shisui has been hiding well. The only other one able to hold the Sharingan is Sasuke."

"The question is if he's unlocked it already."

"No." Itachi interrupted. "Ototou hasn't unlocked the Sharingan, yet. He's fresh out of the Academy, and, admittedly, his skill level isn't that impressive. It will take a long while for him to unlock its first stage."

"Then, we're safe….For the time being, anyway." Shisui replied, looking over his shoulder to the surrounding vegetation. "We should go. Your little gang might notice your absence, Itachi-kun." Shisui turned back to his 'little brother' and grinned.

Itachi hummed and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Shisui turn to the other member. "It's a pleasure to see you again, ma'am." He then disappeared. The third member's eyes softened and she sighed, turning around to leave the clearing.

_**Konohagakure no Sato- Inuzuka Clan Compound**_

"Are you sure it was a good idea, Kaa-san?" Inuzuka Hana asked with a worried glance over to her mother, who had taken her usual resting place on the couch.

Inuzuka Tsume gave a feral grinned.

Earlier, his youngest son, Kiba, had come in with his two new teammates, the village's two Jinchuuriki, asking if it was possible to have foxes as familiars. The grins that had split the blonde and pinkette's faces when she told them it was possible had been priceless. They had asked her if they had some, and Hana had said that there were foxes over at the vet.

The kids had smiled at each other and asked to see them. Hana told them that the vet was closed for today and told them to come over tomorrow to check them out. The newly-made Genin had agreed and left the house, opting for just hanging out and getting to know each other better.

"Don't worry, Hana. I have a reason for doing this." Tsume finally answered, looking over her shoulder at her daughter. "I just need to talk things through with Sandaime, Hatake and Uzuki."

Of course, that'd be later because Yugao is out on a mission and the kits are new-borns. They could barely walk right at the moment. Oh, but she knows she's gonna' have fun with this.

She can just _feel_ it.

_**Nightfall- Konohagakure**_

Sakura woke up with a start, sweat running down her forehead and cheeks, her hair matted to her face and lungs screaming for air. Her eyes darted around the dark room, slumping her shoulders a bit when she noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

She groaned, laying back down and cursing loudly. "Damn it, Kyuubi, can't you leave me alone for once?" She sighed roughly and closed her eyes, opening them again to see a rust cage, which looked to be falling apart, with a seal keeping the doors closed.

A rumbling sound came from within the cage, and Sakura realized that the fox was chuckling evilly. Eyes opened to reveal slit pupils and red in colour. **"What's the matter, kitten? Afraid of a little Kumo ninja?"** The fox laughed again when he saw Sakura glare at him.

Sakura turned away from him in shame, knowing that he knew her deepest fears and secrets. "I may be afraid of them, but at least I'm not trapped inside a 13-year-old." She smirked when she heard the fox growl lowly.

**"You insolent child. I will get out of this prison and crush you!"** The fox roared, slamming one of his tails against the cage doors. Even though the seal was weak and the cage seemed to be able to fall apart at any moment, it still worked. It kept the fox inside.

Sakura's smirk dropped and her eyes lowered. "Why do you insist on making me remember that day? Isn't it enough you decided to keep this on me?" She pointed lazily at the bandage that was wrapped completely around her right arm.

Kyuubi scoffed, or at least, it sounded like a scoff. **"My chakra is poisonous, girl. Take too much of it and you'll die. You were too young to handle even the slightest bit back then. I wasn't going to risk my life just for your gain of untouched and unscarred skin. Get used to it."**

"Why can't you just heal it now?"

**"I said get used to it."**

Sakura blinked, and she was back in her room. She sighed, muttering under her breath, "Asshole." She heard a loud growl in the back of her head but she ignored it and settled back on her pillow. Damn Kyuubi giving her damn nightmares on the night before the team's first damn mission.

Inside of her head, Kyuubi lay down and curled up, _**'Still can't believe how weird your plan is turning out to be. Have my former Jinchuuriki's mate seal half of me inside their cub and the other half into another kit. Guess you didn't see that small, little dent in yours plans, huh, Rikudou? Tch.'**_

_**Uchiha Clan Estate**_

Sasuke growled impatiently, pacing around his room in deep thought. He had had the perfect plan for his revenge on the blonde Jinchuuriki but the Hokage had decided to put a dent in them. He had been hoping to get in Naruto's team. He had been hoping that during a mission and confusion had been aroused, he would be able to sneak in and kill the insolent blonde.

But now he was put in a team with the Inuzuka brat and that new girl. It completely ruined his plans. It looked like he had to start from square one again. He'd have to watch the blonde more carefully from now on. He needed to find a weakness in him and make him pay for what he had done.

Oh, yes, Uchiha Sasuke will kill the demon spawn that was called Uzumaki Naruto. And nothing would get in his way.

_(A/N: Yo, guys! How's it going? I really hope it's going good for ya'll 'cause I'm feeling great. I'm alive! And I'm ready to rock n' roll! Did you guys miss me? Yeah, I know you did. :P_

_Anyway, to be honest, this isn't the best comeback. I was actually hoping to get the Bell Test in this chapter but when I started thinking about it, I realized I didn't know what to do with that scene. It has to be a great fight, not a sloppy one, so I'm going to start planning things out again. So get pumped 'cause 7th Creature is back! Expect an update soon because we're hitting it off the road in no time!_

_I'll answer any reviews/questions you guys may leave in the next chapter._

I also want to thank you all for your get well wishes and the support. I love you guys.

See ya' next time!

_7th Creature)_


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